Broken Battles
by theworldsedge
Summary: Sequel to Star Crossed. Marceline and the group face more troubles, separations and walkers. With tensions higher than before and responsibilities increased, how can they cope against the living? [Season 2]
1. Memories

**Well, here it is! The sequel to _Star Crossed_. I'm sorry it's taken so long, but I have had a really busy year so far and writing has kind of been thrown away for a bit. **

**It's also been really important to me personally to write this story much better than I did the last. This means less dialogue from the game, more changes, and generally a better quality of writing. I hope I've managed to do that. **

**If you're new to the story, I'd recommend reading Star Crossed before this, as you may be quite confused for the characters and relationships. **

**Ok, end of my talking. Thank you for clicking on the story, I hope you enjoy it and I'll try to update as frequently as I can! **

* * *

It had been over a month since we left Savannah. We were in an entirely new year since losing almost everyone. Five of us were left.

When we reunited with Clementine on the way to the train, she threw her tiny arms around me and cried. I kept her comforted like that for so long. The little girl told me how she saw her parents roaming the streets as the very monsters that had claimed many of the people we had grown to know and trust. She was nine years old and had witnessed more than could ever be right. She had seen her babysitter turn, had seen so many strangers die, had seen cannibalism and violent deaths. To top it all off, she had to shoot Lee and find us all alone. I knew that was going to begin the downfall of Clem's positivity; the hopeful spirit she had was ripped away and destroyed, leaving an empty little girl behind.

It was January when our reduced group moved onto different paths. We never knew where we were going exactly, we just knew we wanted to reach the countryside. We wanted to follow the plan that we'd decided after the boat went missing. The plan we had decided with the people who were now dead.

The winter storms hit badly and the snow lay thick around us as we followed the wind blindly.

"One benefit of the snow," Travis spoke, breaking our silence. "Is that we can see where people have been."

"Or walkers," I replied, not moving my eyes from the direction ahead.

"Yeah, or walkers," Travis repeated.

Without a moment's hesitation, Omid crouched down in the snow and I raised an eyebrow, stopping in my tracks and looking at him.

"What are you doing?" Christa asked him, a confused expression on her face.

"My favourite part of the snow," Omid smiled slyly, standing up. "Is this!"

Before I could avoid the attack, a clump of snow flew in my direction and hit me in the face.

"Omid!" I yelled. "You'll regret that!"

I dived to the floor as quickly as I could, scooping up the snow into my hands and throwing it quickly in the man's direction.

Travis laughed out loud and picked a snowball up from the ground, throwing it at me too.

"No fair!" I shouted. "Clem, defend me!"

Clementine let out a little giggle, which took me by surprise. Since the events of Savannah, I rarely heard a happy tone come from the girl.

Clementine made a quick snowball and so did I, but we were already being targeted by Omid and Travis.

"You're all such children," Christa laughed, a bright smile painted on her face.

"Hey, Christa," Omid grinned. "Heads up!"

A snowball hit Christa in the shoulder, and she shook her head while chuckling.

"You guys," I giggled. "We're gonna get sick from the cold if we carry on like this."

"Yeah," Travis agreed with a disappointed sigh, putting his hands in his pockets to warm them. "Well, it was fun while it lasted."

Omid inched to Christa and brushed the flicks of snow from her clothes and hair before we continued walking with smiles on our faces. It was nice to have a moment forgetting what was going on around us. One of the best things about the snow, I had decided, was that it made us feel more normal and it gave Clementine just a moment of real childhood again.

* * *

We didn't do much else for months but travel. All we really ever did was walk, sleep, eat, walk some more, talk a bit, and kill the occasional walker.

We'd all found guns and knives to handle, making us capable of surviving more.

Thankfully, we discovered a house full of medicine, food and clothes somewhere along the way. It was like nobody had been inside since the start of the apocalypse.

I reluctantly left my torn, dirty red hoodie behind at the house and replaced it with clean clothing. There were many memories associated with it, I felt like getting rid of it was saying goodbye to everything I'd been through. Though in a world like this, being attached to the past was a hindrance.

Clementine found a new blue jacket to keep her warmer, and we found some bigger clothes for Christa, who's stomach was gradually increasing in size for the birth of her child. I sometimes thought about how hard it would be to raise a child in a world that had fallen apart, where everybody you didn't know was declared a threat.

I found a baggy grey t-shirt, which was good because it hid how much weight I had lost from the lack of nutrition. My priorities were to ensure Clementine and Christa ate whatever food we had first, since they were the ones who needed it most. Sometimes that meant Omid, Travis and I wouldn't get to eat much, despite their protests.

The t-shirt I'd claimed was more ironic than anything else. It had a picture of a hand, presumably a zombie's, reaching out from a grave. I had no other options, though. I collected a pair of black jeans that seemed to have faded in colour like they'd been washed too many times, but the colour of my clothing was the last of my worries.

Travis had also gotten rid of his own jacket. He'd been a little more eager to dispose of it than I had been regarding my own. I figured that he thought about Ben a lot when he saw it, since they wore the same ones, and also his other friends from their band that he'd witnessed the deaths or turning of.

We also found more food in the cupboards of the kitchen- a lot of food. The house was suitable to live in for a while, so we stayed there for at least a week but we set off walking as the snow started again, making sure we weren't trapped there since that was never a good situation to be in. We had carried on walking for a long time, hoping we could get as close as possible to safety for Christa and the baby.

* * *

Around March, we found a small house in the middle of the woods with nobody inside. Unfortunately for us, the cold house was so empty it had probably been uninhibited even before the outbreak. There was nothing inside except the basic furniture. There was a sofa, which seemed to have some sort of mold settling into the corner of one cushion. Christa still slept there one night, finding it more comfortable for her back than the floor. I decided to take first watch, not feeling like I could possibly sleep when I knew walkers could be nearby. I was taking no risks anymore.

Omid lay on the floor by the sofa, snoring lightly. Clementine was near him too, though I made sure she slept nearer to a corner of the room and away from any doors or windows. I didn't need to explain why; she'd seen enough of the apocalypse to understand.

"Aren't you tired?"

My cold, blue eyes moved from focusing on the sleeping people to the boy that lay on the floor beside me while I sat leaning against a wall.

"It doesn't matter," I told Travis. "It's more important to be watching this door."

Travis propped his head on his hand, balancing on one elbow where he lay. "Nothing's coming through there, Marce."

I drew my focus away again and to the door that had a cabinet moved in front of it as a barricade to delay any danger. "Can't be too careful."

Travis sighed and sat up. "What are you thinking?"

I shrugged.

"Talk to me," he urged. "We never get a chance to talk anymore. I miss it."

I tilted my head to look at him again. His face had grown even more hair and his eyes looked tired. He actually looked sick, but we all did. "Go to sleep."

"I'm not sleeping," he refused. "I'm not tired. You're gonna have to bore me to sleep."

I let out a small giggle. "You're such an idiot."

Travis smiled and shuffled to sit nearer to me, watching the blocked door with me. "Yeah, I know."


	2. Threat

We walked for months. I felt like we were just moving for the sake of not staying in the same place for too long, but I did want to get to a safe place for Christa to have her baby.

By the time July arrived, the whole group expected to have a new person with them. We walked through the woods toward a clearing that Omid had set his eyes upon, since he noticed a building there.

Christa and Omid walked ahead and crouched down behind some plants to watch the building for any signs of the living... or the undead. Travis and I aimed our guns at the building too, though covered Christa and Omid from different sides so we could be prepared for anything. Clementine made sure to stay back, since I wanted to keep her kill-count low.

Christa and Omid were having a conversation of their own while my eyes scanned over the brown, neglected bathroom building. Deciding the coast was clear, I waved my hand to signal to the others that it was safe.

The group rejoined one another as we walked closer to the bathroom.

"Come on, Christa, what's wrong with 'Omid'?" My friend asked, and I presumed that I had missed the start of the conversation.

"We're not calling our baby 'Omid'. One of you is enough," Christa joked in response to the man before turning to Travis, Clem and I walking behind them. "Guys, a little help here?"

"Omid the second," the man continued thinking out loud.

Travis laughed. "Catchy."

"No," Christa responded sternly, though had a bright smile on her face.

"You two should decide," Clementine told the couple.

"Either way I'm winning the vote," Omid chuckled. "Travis agrees with me."

"My vote counts for two," Christa returned.

"What if it's a girl?" I wondered. "I'm not sure 'Omid the second' is a good name for a girl."

"We'll call her Christa," the woman joked.

"One of you is enough," Omid mimicked, a small grin on his face.

Clementine stopped and glanced around at the building while Omid and Christa continued their baby-name dispute. I paused my walking to keep an eye on the little girl as she moved away to pick up an empty can, giving it a suspicious look.

"Whatcha found, Clem?" I asked, approaching her.

The young girl placed the can back down and shrugged.

"Why don't you, uh, get cleaned up in the girl's room?" Omid suggested, looking in our direction.

"I hope the sink works in there," Clementine commented.

"Me too," I smiled. "C'mon."

I raised an eyebrow at Omid as Clementine and I went away into the girl's bathroom. Travis decided he'd wait outside to make sure we were safe.

The emptiness of the bathroom was haunting. I'd seen horrible public toilets before, but this building was the definition of gross.

"Hello?" Clementine called out, her voice echoing in the quietness of the room.

She looked up at me for a second to check the coast was clear.

"Sounds like nobody's here," I confirmed. "We should check the stalls, just to be safe."

Clementine took out her gun and held it up, moving away to the end stall on the left while I went to the end stall on the right. We pushed the doors open at the same time, both with our weapons ready to shoot. There was nothing but creaky doors and slimy floors.

The middle stall we checked together. I mimed a countdown from three and the child pushed the door open, again finding no people or walkers.

I pulled a face of disgust at the gross toilet and closed the door back over.

"Well, no one else is in here," I declared.

"Guess it's safe to get cleaned up," she agreed.

I moved to the sink and tried the water, rolling my eyes when nothing happened. "What a surprise."

Clem smiled slightly and took a bottle of water from her backpack along with a napkin. She passed it to me and I tipped some of the water into the napkin to avoid wasting it all. I gave her the bottle back and she placed it beside the bag while I took the dirt from my face. She wiped her own face next while I checked I'd got all of the blood and dirt from mine in the mirror.

A small noise startled me, but I realised quickly that Clementine had just knocked the bottle of water from beside her bag, making it roll into one of the stalls.

"Oh, shoot," she whispered.

"Where did it go?" I asked.

Clementine moved over to one stall while I went into the one beside it in search of the bottle.

"Did you find it?"

"Ew."

That gave me the answer I was looking for. I giggled slightly and went to walk out of the stall until I heard the door to the bathroom move. I looked into the mirror and caught the reflection of a person I didn't identify, and in a swift motion I moved the door shut and stayed in the stall, praying Clementine would do the same.

Slow footsteps occupied the silence, stopping near the stall. I heard the clicking of a gun and cursed to myself, realising Clem had left her things at the sink.

"I see you," a female voice said.

I had my gun held up in an instant at the door, but I realised the person was not addressing me. They were talking to Clementine.

"Get out of there," the woman spoke. "Hey, you're not fooling me."

"Who are you?" Clementine carefully asked.

"None of your business," she shot back.

I bit my lip in anger at how this lady could talk to a child in such a horrible way. I took a step forward and placed my hand on the door, ready to open it and shoot the woman if she was dangerous.

"Are you gonna hurt me?"

"Only if you're stupid!"

The door of Clementine's stall opened.

"Get out here."

It was my chance to shoot and defend Clem. I needed to make sure there was no chance the little girl would be harmed, so I peeked around the door slightly to see her walking out. She glanced at my stall, a look of sheer worry on her face.

"You got anything on you?"

I opened the door slowly, seeing the woman look into Clem's backpack.

"C'mon, let's see."

I aimed my gun at the woman's head and Clem knew what to do.

"Back the fuck away from that bag."

The woman with the gun froze.

"I ain't gonna shoot," she assured me as the gun pressed against her head.

"I won't hesitate. Get the fuck out of here," I ordered.

She still didn't move. Clementine moved out of the line of potential fire and into the stall. I didn't want her to witness if I had to shoot the girl.

"I'll leave," the woman said.

"Great. Put the gun back where you found it, then."

The woman moved slightly so her hand wasn't in the backpack anymore, though Clem's gun was still pointing out to the side.

I caught another reflection in the mirror, seeing Travis walk in to the bathroom with his own gun.

"Put the gun down," I repeated.

The woman went to place the gun beside the backpack until she also saw Travis walk in. In what could have been a panic, she fired the gun in an unknown direction and two more bullets followed hers.

The woman's body slumped to the floor, blood dripping from her head.

My eyes darted from the woman to Travis, who stood with a look of shock on his face.

"Trav?" I checked.

"I'm fine," he rushed.

"Clem? Come out," I commanded.

The little girl moved out of the stall and her eyes fell upon the body. She covered her mouth in surprise and I grabbed her backpack, also swiping up the gun from the hands of the dead woman. I put an arm around Clem's shoulders and guided her out of the bathroom quickly, not wanting to her to look at the scene longer than necessary.

As the three of us got outside, Omid and Christa came out of the men's bathrooms and stared at us in fright.

"What happened!?" Christa panicked.

"Calm down," I said, passing the backpack to Clementine. "A girl tried to steal from Clem. She got scared and went to shoot one of us, but we shot her first."

Travis, Omid and Christa seemed to exchange a look of concern with one another briefly, but I chose to ignore it.

"Let's make tracks, that shot will have rung out. No doubt the walkers are on their way already," I instructed, setting back off to the route we'd been following earlier.

Our small group left the scene at speed, determined to reach somewhere that we could stay for Christa to deliver her baby safely.

* * *

**Thank you to the old readers who have returned for the sequel! Your support means the world. **


	3. Supplies

We had been walking for at least half a day and the darkness was beginning to settle over the woods.

"Marceline?" Omid asked, catching up with me as I walked ahead of the group slightly. "I really think we should stop soon. It's getting dark and Christa's back is really hurting her."

"We're gonna have to reach somewhere sheltered, being exposed to walkers isn't going to do any good later."

"Come on, Marcey," Travis said as he appeared beside Omid. "I really think this baby is going to arrive soon, and it's not going to be good if we pressure her to walk too much."

I glanced back at Christa who walked with Clementine. She was holding onto her stomach with a slightly pained face, while Clem looked up at her with a worried expression.

"We'll stop up there," I told them, pointing ahead to where there was a slight clearance in the trees. "And we should stay there until the baby is born."

"Sounds good," Omid smiled, dropping back to Christa to let her know the plan.

I kept walking with Travis, but something was playing on my mind a lot.

"Back at the bathroom," I began. "Why didn't you stop that girl getting in? Clem could have been shot because of that."

Travis widened his eyes, staring back at me in disbelief. "Don't blame me for what happened back there. I didn't even see her arrive, I was circling the building. The only way I knew something was going on was when I heard your voices echoing through the vents. It's not like I let her in there."

I nodded my head once. "Sorry for the accusation. Do you know who shot first?"

He shrugged. "My guess would be that it was you, since your gun was held to her head."

I looked at the gun in my hand for a long second, then lowered it back to my side. "She was threatening us, I couldn't leave her to do it."

"I know, Marce," Travis sighed. "You did what you had to."

I bit my lip. _Did I really have to do that?_ I couldn't dwell on it.

We arrived at the clearing just as Christa began to breathe heavily to ease her pain. Then, it was a waiting game for the arrival and a praying game for safety to last meanwhile.

* * *

Christa lost the baby. The poor child hadn't even had a moment to be welcomed into the world. I had a nagging feeling in my brain that we could have done something- _I_ could have done something- to have prevented the baby dying. We didn't give Christa enough food for two, I pushed her to walk for longer than she should have... She was exhausted. She never stopped being exhausted even after the trauma, and now Omid was just as depressed.

Our small group walked solemnly through the woods for months, finding camp in various places. Christa often couldn't sleep, so she stayed on watch for long periods of time. One night, I woke up from hearing her sobs. I comforted her for a long while, but I knew that I couldn't do anything to heal the amount of pain she felt inside her mind and heart. Omid struggled too, through he still tried to make sure Christa smiled every day, no matter how much they were both upset. As sad as everyone was, I think we all knew that it was better that the baby did not have to survive in a world like ours. We would have had to raise a killer, training them to use a gun as soon as they developed the ability to hold one. What kind of life would that be?

Roughly six months passed and Christa was still not much better. She became short tempered, miserable and sarcastic all of the time- but I couldn't blame her. I wasn't the nicest of people anymore, either.

We reached a small town after walking for a long distance, which luckily seemed to be lacking the usual residents.

"We should clear out these shops," Travis suggested as we walked in the middle of the empty road.

Some shops had broken windows, but it was easy to see that there were still some supplies on shelves within them.

Christa nodded and pointed ahead to a supermarket at the end of the road. "Hopefully there will still be food in there."

"I hope so," Clementine mumbled, rubbing her growling stomach.

I instantly felt guilty, realising it had been quite a while since she really ate enough food.

The group and I walked to the door of the store, our footsteps filling the empty silence in the abandoned town. Travis looked through the cracked windows, trying to see whether there was anything inside but couldn't make much out.

I pushed on the door, though it didn't move in the slightest. "Locked."

"Shocker," Christa complained. "We're gonna have to break in."

"The sound will draw walkers," I responded, unsure of her suggestion.

"What else can we do?" Omid asked. "I'll do it."

Before I could object to the act, Omid charged at the door in an attempt to throw the doors open. Instead, he just bounced off the closed doors and stumbled backwards, holding onto his shoulder that took the force. That would have bruised...

Clementine let out a small giggle, a sound that put butterflies in my stomach. Happiness was rarely expressed now, so the rare times it was made me feel truly human again.

"Great idea, Omid," Travis chuckled. "But these doors open sideways, not inwards. We need to pry them open."

"Awesome."

I tried to hide my smile as Omid pulled a face at his arm. Christa seemed to also be hiding a laugh. It made a nice change.

"Any ideas on what we can use?" Travis inquired.

I glanced around, something catching my eyes on the floor near the side of an alleyway.

"These might come in handy," I grinned, picking up the keys and waving them in my hand.

I put the key into the door and unlocked it, allowing Travis to slide it open easily.

The inside of the supermarket had supplies, though not as many as anticipated. We walked inside carefully, all with our guns ready to fire. Thankfully, no alarms were set. That should have made me suspicious.

"What do you think happened here?" Omid whispered.

"Maybe the town got infected later than other big cities. They might have known what was coming and stocked up," Travis guessed.

I raised an eyebrow, studying one of the shelves in more depth. "No... Where the shelves are empty there's not much dust. The outbreak was almost three years ago..."

"Someone must have recently been here or there would be more dust," Clementine realised.

"Exactly."

"You girls should be detectives," Omid mused.

We surveyed the supermarket for any signs of life, but there appeared to be nobody in there. This became our signal to take whatever we wanted.

Christa, Omid, Travis and Clem went to see how much food they could collect and carry while I continued walking around the supermarket to ensure it was safe. I passed the various aisles of food, pulling faces at the lumpy milk and mold-covered bread in some of them. I stopped at the aisle of medication and took a walk down it, browsing the shelves. There was a collection of painkillers that I decided we would need, so I put a few bottles into my backpack and resumed my 'shopping'. There were bandaids, bandages and other pills that I decided we could keep for if someone got sick when the bad weather hit again. It was only approaching Spring, so I knew that sickness wouldn't really be an issue for another few seasons, but you could never be too prepared.

I picked up a small box that was decorated with clouds and read the writing on the back, discovering that they were sleeping aids. I figured this would be good for the nights when Christa couldn't sleep, or myself. I put a few boxes in my backpack until I was practically a walking pharmacy. Getting caught with this much would have raised some concerns if we weren't in the middle of an apocalypse.

Deciding I had enough medication to last us, I headed back around the aisles and froze in my path, noticing something out of place. The front door of the supermarket was wide open, when we had only left it partially opened. I frantically rushed to the door and looked out, seeing nobody in sight.

"Guys?" I called, moving back into the shop.

"What's up?" Travis replied, his head appearing from around one of the aisles.

I motioned to the door in hope he would understand. He nodded and moved back into the aisle, getting Clementine ready to leave the shop quickly. I went down to the far end of the shop where Christa and Omid had gone to find food.

I paused, titling my head slightly as a person appeared in my view. I needed to think logically. If it was a walker, it was a no brainer that I would kill it. If it was a person, the situation would change depending how they acted.

I stepped carefully closer to the person as they looked around into another aisle where I figured Christa and Omid were. I pointed my gun at the person.

"Looking for something?" I spoke calmly.

The person jumped in fright, spinning around and staring at me like a deer caught in headlights. It was a girl, probably just a bit younger than myself. She held her hands up in front of her, weaponless and terrified.

"Are you with anyone else?" I asked her.

Christa and Omid ran from the aisle and pointed their guns at the girl too, and I could feel how scared she was at being outnumbered. She shook her head dramatically. I lowered my gun slowly.

"What's your name?"

The girl stuttered. "K...Katie."

"What are you doing in here, Katie?" Christa quizzed.

The girl moved her hands down since we had established that she didn't have a gun to harm us with. "I've been here for the past week. I was going to Wellington but when I realised the town was almost deserted, I stayed. Plus there's food here."

"What's Wellington?" Travis enquired, approaching us with Clementine.

"You've never heard of it?" She asked, brushing her ginger hair behind her ears. "It's a place up north. I heard of it from the last group I passed. It's super cold there and the snow slows the walkers down. It's safe."

"Wellington," I repeated. It sounded like the perfect place to go.

"You're not going to kill me, are you?"

"Unless you're a threat," Omid answered. "Are you?"

Katie shook her head again.

"You're welcome to join the group then," Omid smiled.

Katie seemed to consider this for a brief second, before shaking her head again. "Thank you, but I've managed three years alone. I think I'll keep going. Maybe I'll see you in Wellington."

I nodded my head. "Well, it was nice to meet another survivor. Good luck."

I kept my finger on the trigger of my gun while the others moved out of the shop, still wary of the girl. She smiled a half smile at me as I walked out of the door, and I returned it for the sake of being friendly, knowing either of us could be dead soon and human politeness was difficult to find nowadays.

"So, to Wellington?" Travis suggested, as we all gathered outside the shop.

"To Wellington," Christa confirmed. Things were looking up.

* * *

**a/n: **So I was thinking of writing another story about Katie. Let me know in the reviews if you'd like to read her backstory!

Things are gonna get intense soon... Prepare yourselves.

Thank you for reading, reviewing and supporting x


	4. Goodbye

**So I might have included a bit of sadness in this chapter. **

* * *

We took refuge in a house outside of the town. The kitchen was empty of food, so it was lucky that we'd managed to get into the shop for supplies. The electricity and water didn't work, but it had been a long time since they did anywhere.

The house had two bedrooms. One had a double bed in, the other had a bunk bed. There were family pictures framed on the walls and tables, some featuring just a few people and some including extended family.

"Must have been a family living here," I pointed out to the younger girl that was examining the house with me. "Maybe they evacuated together. I wonder if they made it to somewhere safe."

"Let's hope they did," Clem sighed.

I looked down at the little girl, who was suddenly not so little anymore. She had already seemed to grow up so much since when I'd first met her, but more noticeably she had grown up since Savannah.

Clementine looked back up at me and gave a forced smile. "What?"

"I'm just glad we've made it this long," I said. "I think it's only a few more months until three years, if I've counted seasons right."

"You're right," she told me. "In July it will be three years since we met."

I smiled, then considered what she'd said. Three years since we met would mean that it was three years since the original group was established. Now there was only Clem and I. The others had been picked up later in the year.

Clementine must have thought about this too, and frowned. "I miss Lee."

I crouched down slightly so I was closer to her height and put my arms on her shoulders. "I know, Clem. I do too. He'd be so proud of you though for making it this far, your parents too."

Clem nodded and her eyes became tearful, before she wrapped her small arms around me into a hug. I hugged her back and tried to keep my own emotions away. Lee would be proud, but he should have been with us to survive this long.

Travis walked into the room and stopped in the doorway, his face falling at the sight of Clem and I upset. I wiped my eyes and released the girl from the hug, and she stepped back to wipe her own tears away.

"You tired?" I asked her.

Clementine nodded her head and didn't speak.

"There's a bed upstairs," Travis informed. "Bunk bed. Christa and Omid claimed the big bed and they're gonna sleep now, so Marcey you can have the bunk bed with Clem while I stay watch."

"What happened to not needing to stay on watch when we're in houses? Just block the doors, you said."

Travis smiled slightly. "Not enough beds anyway, I might as well just make sure we're safe."

I rolled my eyes and stood up properly, putting a hand on Clementine's shoulder.

"You go to sleep, Clem. I'll be up there in a minute."

Clementine went away upstairs, leaving Travis and I alone.

The boy turned to me as soon as she had left. "You okay?"

I shrugged. "Just thinking about Lee- the group formed back at Macon. Now it's only Clem and I remaining. Everyone else is dead."

"I'm sorry."

I closed my eyes and covered them with my hands in an attempt to block out the memories. I felt them be moved them away from my face and I was engulfed in a warm hug.

"What can I do?"

"Nothing," I sighed, putting my arms around Travis' back to return the hug. "Just don't die."

There were footsteps and Christa arrived, her face looking restless. I let go of the hug and turned to the woman.

"I'll join on watch tonight," she stated.

"You've not slept for ages, Christa," I said. "I got you something."

I moved to my backpack and opened the zip, pulling out a box of sleeping pills and giving them to her. "They might help."

Christa looked at the box and nodded when she read what they were for. "Thank you."

I smiled slightly and the woman left the room again, hopefully to get some real sleep.

Travis raised an eyebrow to me and nodded his head to the backpack. "You got a whole drugstore in there?"

I giggled and shook my head. "I didn't know how much we'd need or when we'd find more. No harm in taking it, I guess."

"Yeah," he agreed.

We stood in silence for a few seconds and it became slightly awkward, so I pointed to the door and began to leave the room. "I... I'm going to bed now."

"Wait."

I turned back around and he looked conflicted, like he was considering speaking. "I, uh... goodnight."

I smiled back. "Night, Trav."

Clementine was already in bed, though not sleeping; she just lay staring at the ceiling as I took my combat boots off, placing them on the floor.

"What are you thinkin', Clem?" I wondered, looking up at the bed above me.

There was a bit of a silence before she spoke. "I was just thinking of my parents."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No," she whispered sadly. "It's okay."

"Alright, Clementine. Goodnight."

* * *

A few more months passed of heading to Wellington. We were surviving well, I thought. The last time the group had witnessed death was two years ago, since it was around November time I presumed. We had traded some medication for food with people we passed in a small town, and we were lucky enough to find more to eat in other places. We did have a new problem- Christa had used every box of sleeping pills and was reliant on them. She couldn't sleep anymore, her eyes were sunken and dark, she was just weak.

"How much longer until we reach Wellington?" Omid complained.

We'd been walking for so long. It was all we ever did and it was ridiculously boring, but there was not much else we could do. We needed to get to Wellington and there was no other way.

"I would say we're about a month or two walk away, maybe sooner," I answered, keeping my eyes fixed on the surroundings.

Between the five of us, all we had was a knife, a gun with one bullet left, and a hammer for weapons. All the ammo in the other guns had run out from the walker fights. That meant as a whole, the group had three weapons, a few boxes of meds, and our brains. Not too brilliant, though better than nothing.

"I think we should rest for the night," Omid suggested, glancing over at Christa.

"Me too," I agreed.

"We can set up a tent or something here, and then-"

Omid's voice cut off from a panicked scream belonging to Clementine.

We had all been so distracted in talking and believing we were safe, a walker had approached and caught us by surprise. It grabbed onto Omid, and everything went in slow motion.

Christa cried. Omid swore loudly, pushing the monster off his arm. I ran for Clem who stood beside Omid and grabbed her, moving her away as quickly as possible while Travis cracked the walker's skull.

"Omid," Christa sobbed, holding her hands out above his arm like she couldn't touch it. His bitten arm. "Omid it's okay, we can fix this."

"We need to cut it off," Travis stated.

"What can we use?" I asked.

We had nothing.

Omid was staring at everyone in horror, as well as his arm. I was getting horrible memories of the moment Lee revealed his walker bite.

"This isn't happening," I whispered, moving away and trying to think straight. We had to do something.

"We need to do something _now_!" Christa shouted.

"Christa," Omid said, his voice sad and broken. "There's nothing here to cut this arm off that wouldn't kill me anyway."

"Don't say that."

"It's true."

Clementine had a single tear rolling down her face, and I could guess it was because of how much Omid meant to her after everyone being together for so long. It was probably also bringing back the same memories I was witnessing.

"We have to leave it for now," he continued. "There's nothing here, so unless we find something soon then... you're gonna have to kill me."

Christa cried again, her arms around the man while his were around her. I'd never seen her this sad, not even when she lost the baby. Everything would be even worse now. Fucking apocalypse.

"Let's get looking for something," I demanded in a desperate tone, moving away to begin walking. We had to find anything that could chop the arm off. This was the moment I wished we had stayed walking through cities.

* * *

"We need to stop."

Clementine and I turned around, faced with Travis.

"What?" I asked.

"This walking isn't doing any good," he told us, looking at me in particular. "We've been walking for almost two hours. We aren't finding anything. Omid... he wants us to stop it."

"Stop it?"

"Yeah... Christa is gonna..."

"Oh. Okay," I replied, cutting him off. Clem didn't need to hear it.

The three of us went back to the tree where Omid and Christa had stopped, and my heart broke.

Omid had his head resting on Christa's shoulder as she comforted him, or at least tried to. His skin was a sickly colour and his eyes were yellowing when he opened them. Clementine held onto my hand.

"Guess this..." He tried to speak. "Is the end of the road, huh?"

I felt a huge lump in my throat as I crouched down on the floor beside him.

"I'm so sorry I didn't see that walker."

"It's not... your fault."

Christa moved away, wiping the tears from her eyes. Clementine went with her, her small body shaking with her crying. Travis sat on the other side of Omid.

"Look... after Christa... for me."

"We will," I assured him. "Goodbye, Omid."

"Cya, Marce."

I walked away through the trees to where Christa and Clementine were while Travis said goodbye. When he came back with slightly red eyes, Christa inhaled the air deeply, collecting herself. We said nothing as she disappeared back to Omid. Then we waited.

A gunshot rang through the woods, and I knew it was the end.

* * *

**I'm sorry. **


	5. Ambush

Four of us were left, sitting around on some cut down tree logs. There was an attempted fire in the middle of the group, though it was now just burning out from the rain that left us soaked. A weasel was hanging over the fire, but we knew it would take forever to cook if we couldn't make the fire any better. We were in a dead silence, sitting around and hoping for a miracle. We hadn't talked for what felt like hours.

"Christa, talk to us," Clementine eventually plead, her young voice desperate for a distraction.

She said nothing, staring into the weak flames for a few seconds before looking away.

Travis continued poking at the fire with a long stick, praying that the flames would rise. "Fuckin' fire is never gonna light."

"The wood's too wet to burn," Christa stated obviously.

"What else can we do?" Clementine asked.

"Find somethin' that'll burn, maybe. I dunno," she went over to the fire and took the stick from Travis, beginning to try and get the fire to rise.

"We should do that," I agreed.

"Won't be easy in the dark and in the rain."

I sighed.

"You guys should be doing this, not me," the woman continued. "Tending a fire so you can cook and stay warm... It's something you all have to be able to do... otherwise..."

"We know," Travis replied, cutting her off. "I can do it, so can Marceline, but this rain isn't exactly aiding our task."

"We can't stay in one place too long," Clem spoke. "It's too dangerous. We need to keep moving."

Christa looked up at her and narrowed her eyes, seeming agitated. "All we do, all we have ever done, is move. But we never seem to get anywhere."

"We can't just stop," I defended. "We've come too far now, lost too much, to just stop trying."

"I don't need reminding of what we've lost, Marceline."

I kept my mouth shut and slowly gazed away. There was so much tension it was unbearable.

Clem wrapped her arms around herself, shivering from the cold rain that hadn't stopped for a long time. "I'm freezing."

"Wellington is gonna be way worse," I sighed, shuffling closer and wrapping my arms around her. "If that girl we met was right, there'll be snow there. Imagine how cold it's going to get."

"At least the snow can entertain us," Travis smiled, his eyes still watching the fire. "We could build a snowman."

"If we make it," Christa killed the joy. "We just need to keep moving north."

"We'll get there, Clem. Don't worry," I smiled at her.

Clementine nodded and leaned into my arms to warm up.

Christa resumed with the fire poking, though there were no improvements on it. We sat in silence, watching as the fire refused to increase. Christa stood up and passed the stick to Travis.

"I'm gonna go look for more wood," she said. Her voice sounded so much older than it used to. "You just keep the fire lit."

Travis began poking around at the fire while the woman disappeared away into the trees.

"We should probably find something to light it more," I suggested.

Clementine seemed to get an idea and moved to pick up her backpack. She opened it and took something out, which caught my eye immediately.

"What's that, Clem?"

I stood up and walked over, crouching beside her as she showed me the picture. I took it in my hands and sighed. It was a picture of Lee.

Clementine took another picture from her bag, this time it was a drawing.

"You drew that?" I asked, studying it. "That's Kenny, Katjaa and Duck, isn't it?"'

Clem nodded, frowning in sadness. I passed her back the picture of Lee, but I spotted another drawing inside the bag.

"What about that one?"

Clementine reached into her bag and pulled the final picture out.

"Who's this?"

Clem gestured to the people on the drawing as she spoke. "This one is me, and that's you."

I smiled at the picture. "That's really nice, Clementine."

"Thank you," she said, a small smile on her mouth.

"This is fucking hopeless," Travis snapped, launching the stick away into the woods in a fit of rage. "Did you find anything yet?"

"I have a lighter," Clem told him, zipping up the bag and walking back over to Travis. I looked at the drawing in my hand once again. In the picture, I was wearing my old red hoodie and Clementine was in her cream dress. She must have drawn it the previous year.

"Hey, Clem, can I keep this?" I wondered.

She glanced back over and nodded her head. "Sure."

I put the picture in the pocket of my jeans and went back to sit on the fallen tree.

"How's that fire lookin'?" I enquired.

"Better," Clem said. "But still not enough."

"How about that log over there?"

Clementine went over and picked it up, placing it into the fire. The flames heightened a small amount.

"Great job, now we can cook this-"

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" A voice suddenly roared out in the trees.

My head shot up, and Travis was on his feet in an instant. Clementine gasped and looked back at me, suddenly panicked as to what was going on.

"Stay by me," I ordered Clem.

She was breathing heavily, walking at my side in the middle of Travis and I. We had our weapons ready, though they weren't much considering we didn't know what we were up against. I held the knife in my hand and Travis had the hammer.

"In the event something goes bad, I want you to run Clem. Just keep on running."

She nodded her head.

Birds flew out of the trees, making enough noise to startle us all. We kept moving quickly and quietly.

"I'm by myself!" I heard Christa shout.

"You're obviously with someone," a male shouted. "Where's your group?"

"Don't fuckin' lie to us!"

I was getting flashbacks of the bandits back in the motel.

"Who do you think you're foolin'?"

"Give us the truth and you don't get hurt!"

Christa came into view, along with many men stood around her.

"How are we gonna do this?" I whispered to Travis.

"I...I'm by myself!" Christa repeated to the men as they pushed her.

I wanted to cry seeing Christa in this situation. She was the last person to deserve that kind of treatment, and I couldn't believe she was lying to protect us.

"They've got guns," Travis informed.

"There's no way we can take them," I muttered.

Clementine seemed to have already formed her own plan, but I noticed too late, when a rock flew through the woods and hit one of the men in the face.

"What the fuck?!" He cried.

"Christa, run!" Clem shouted.

I saw the woman move, one of the men noticing her and was on her heels immediately. The other two men looked in our direction, which made it our cue to escape.

"Fuckin' run!" I instructed, grabbing Travis and Clementine and darting away. I couldn't ignore the sounds of Christa behind us, letting out cries until there was a gunshot. My eyes welled with tears, but we had to keep running.

"Get the fuck over here, now!" A voice demanded.

We continued our race through the trees, but a walker appeared and Clem stopped running, suddenly out of places to go. The man pursuing us kicked the walker down, stomping on it.

"Run, Clem!"

I moved forward, stabbing my knife into the man's shoulder. Bad aim.

"Jesus, are you fucking kidding me?!" He yelled out in pain as I continued running, now lacking a knife.

I caught up with Clem and Travis on a small cliff, just as the man's arms wrapped around me and held me back.

"Get the fuck off me!"

Travis ran to me, lifting his hammer up to hit the man. I was dropped and ducked, but instead all I heard was Travis curse loudly. I moved quickly again, noticing the blood dripping from Travis' face. He held his hand over one of his eyes, a new cut going from his left eyebrow to cheekbone.

"Leave us alone!" Clementine shouted.

The man held the knife I'd stabbed him with and was going to stab Travis, but I dived at him and pushed him over. Luckily for me, I pushed him right into the arms of a walker, which soon overpowered him and began to devour his flesh, making him their newest prey.

Travis clutched his eye and I could see tears fall from his other eye. I'd never seen him cry, so the pain must have been horrendous.

There were suddenly so many more walkers, and we couldn't take them all. I grabbed the hammer from the floor where Travis had dropped it and buried it in a walker. I caught Travis' hand and pulled him over to where Clementine sat on the floor, a horrified expression on her face.

"We need to jump!" I commanded.

Clementine backed up, crawling away from the approaching walkers before she dropped down into the water.

I made a mental note to apologise to Travis later, jumping over the drop while pulling him along with me and into the water after Clem, where the stream carried us away.

* * *

**Don't forget to leave a review if you're feeling up to it! **


	6. Separation

**Hey guys! So sorry for the delay in posting this chapter, I've had my final exams that basically determine how I spend the next few years of my life so I had to limit the distractions. I hope this one's good enough for you all, and thank you once again to the lovely rreviewers who share such kind words of this story. Your encouragement and appreciation honestly makes me feel so much better about my writing and I can't thank you enough. Anyway, enough of my words, let's get back to the chapter- Enjoy! **

* * *

We washed up on some land, and I heaved Travis up from the water. He sat clutching onto his left eye still, coughing up water, but pointed to Clem so I would check her first.

"Clementine?" I asked, shaking the girl's shoulders slightly. "C'mon, wake up."

She coughed violently, choking on water.

"Thank God you're okay," I said, hugging her.

As she stood, Clem still attempted to remove the water remaining in her chest but assured me she was fine, so I quickly moved back to our other friend.

"Trav? I need you to move your hand so I can see whether the cut is deep."

He did as I asked slowly and I was relieved to notice that the cut wasn't bad enough to affect his eyesight.

"You should be fine," I told him. "It's gonna scar, though. Can you open your eye?"

Travis did and blinked with it a few times.

"Thank God I can still see you," he mumbled, a small smile on his mouth.

I giggled and punched his arm playfully. "You had me worried then. Come on, let's get out of this place."

"We should find Christa," Clem stated, straightening up.

I bit my lip and didn't answer, going to the broken staircase that led up onto higher ground instead. The collapsed steps meant we would have to climb up. I jumped and grabbed onto the edge, pulling myself up over the side and then reaching back down for Clementine. Travis jumped up next, and we went up the stairs that were still there.

"Ew."

There was a dead walker with a post stuck through its face, lying there. "Let's keep on walking."

"Looks like a trail here," Travis said. "Might be our way back to the path we were trying to take."

We followed the route, eyes focusing on the trees surrounding us to see whether we were going to be attacked again. The last thing I wanted was a surprise, and I could never risk the lives of Travis and Clementine.

"Please no walkers," I whispered to myself. "No weapons. Please no walkers."

There was a rustling sound.

"What was that?" Clem whispered.

"Keep quiet."

We walked quietly, treading lightly on the ground to avoid making any sound. Birds startled us again, flying out of the plants.

"Flying rats," I snapped, though I immediately felt more relaxed that it wasn't something we had to fight.

When there was another rustling sound, I became more intrigued. We walked around a plant slowly, and then my heart could have melted.

A brownish gold dog with a blue collar was sniffing the plants, scrounging for whatever food it could find. It turned, growling at us, but I didn't even think of what I was doing.

"Hey, boy," I spoke in a comforting tone. "It's okay. What are you doing out here alone?"

The dog tilted its head at me, listening to my voice in curiosity. I held my hand out slowly and carefully for it to make sure I was safe.

"Be careful, Marce," Travis warned.

The dog sniffed my hand before moving his head under it, letting me pet it.

"Good boy. What's your name?" I asked, moving my other hand to its collar, seeing the name 'Sam'.

I withdrew my hand slightly, a frown settling on my face as I looked away.

"What's wrong?" Clem inquired, her tone full of concern.

"His name is Sam. Kind of like my old dog."

"Sammi," Travis confirmed in understanding. "I'm sorry."

Sam turned, looking past us, then trotted over to some different plants. He wagged his tail and glanced back at us.

"What's he doing?" Clementine wondered.

The dog took off running and barking into the trees.

"Let's follow," I said. "He might find food or more people."

We followed the dog to a wrecked minivan, with its windows shattered and rust plating the sides of the vehicle.

"Looks pretty run over, but you never know," Clem said hopefully. Her stomach rumbling made me, Sam and Travis turn to look at her. "Let's look around for some food."

"Don't go too far," I told her.

Clem nodded and moved away, Travis looking the other direction. I went to the van and peeked into the boxes inside, finding a photograph of a family and the dog that made me sigh. I put it back down.

I wandered over to a frisbee on the floor and picked it up, a smile playing on my mouth.

"Hey, Sam, wanna play?"

The dog ran over and barked happily.

"Okay, go fetch!" I threw the frisbee through the air and the dog chased it, catching it while it flew.

He brought it back quickly, dropping it on the floor in front of me.

"Again?" I smiled. I picked it up and threw it again, a bright smile on my face.

Travis and Clementine were watching me, both smiling at what was happening.

"I vote we keep this dog," I giggled when it came back with the frisbee again.

"If he makes you this happy then I second that decision," Travis smiled.

"I miss dogs."

"Me too," Clem said.

Sam barked suddenly, running away again. I followed immediately, investigating what the dog had discovered. Around the side of a tree, a walker was tied up with yellow rope, a red knife sticking from his arm.

"Good boy," I praised the dog, petting its head again so he stopped barking. "He even knows when these guys are around."

The walker turned its head slowly, looking at us.

"Gross."

"He must have tried to cut the bitten arm off," Travis pointed out.

"But that never works," Clem said sadly. "Ever."

I put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. I knew Lee was on her mind a lot. She missed him so much.

"Think he tied himself up?" She asked. "Or did someone force him to do this."

I shrugged.

"Let's get the knife and leave this guy," Travis said, picking up a thick branch beside him. "Look away."

I turned and so did Clementine, leaving us to our imagination while we could hear him breaking the skull and killing the walker.

Travis waved the red knife in his hands. "Let's find some food."

"Wanna throw the frisbee?" I asked Clementine.

She nodded and picked it up, then swung it out of her hands for Sam to follow. Except it went over a rock and out of the dog's interest.

"Darn."

"It was still a good throw," I smiled. "It's a shame we can't play this in a big field rather than out here."

"Yeah," she replied. "I'm gonna go check that bin."

I watched the girl walk away, sighing at how she couldn't even enjoy a game of frisbee at a young age anymore.

"Oh my God, thank you, " I heard her say. She turned around and held the item for Travis and I to see. "Look, a can!"

We sat down nearby and Travis gave Clem the knife to cut open the lid.

"Please don't be bad," she said before cutting into it.

"Yes!" I beamed when we saw the can of beans was still in good condition. "What a relief."

Clem ate a handful of beans first, then passed the can to me. I did the same, moving it on to Travis then.

"We should feed Sam," I suggested. "Poor guy is probably starved too."

Travis nodded and told the dog to sit, which it obediently did.

Travis scooped some of the beans in his hand and went to lay them out on the floor, when suddenly the dog pounced at his hand and took it in his mouth.

Travis fell to the floor, yelling while he tried to push the dog off.

I stumbled as I flew up from my seat and tried to push the dog, shouting for it to stop its attack.

With all of his force, Travis kicked at the dog , sending it out of sight. I looked over to where it landed, my mouth falling when I heard its cries that rang so familiar in my ears.

"What did I do?" He panicked.

Saying nothing, I walked over quickly, my mind clogged with memories. I couldn't control my movements, couldn't hold myself back. I found the dog with spikes sticking through its legs. My eyes filled with tears.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, petting the dog calmly. "You didn't mean to do it. I'm sorry."

I stayed by the dog's side for a few seconds after putting it out of its misery. Sammi and Sam were both quite similar. I wished I could have kept this dog around, it would have made me feel a little bit happier. After taking a deep breath, I walked back to Clem and Travis.

"He got bitten pretty badly," Clementine told me.

I crouched down beside Travis who held his arm. There was a huge, deep bite on his arm that I didn't want to touch since it looked so painful.

"I didn't mean to hurt the dog," he apologised.

"It's not your fault," I said, shaking my head. "He would have starved out here anyway or got eaten by walkers. Let's get this arm covered and keep moving, it's no use sticking around here any longer."

"Yeah," he agreed.

"Guys," Clem gasped. I followed her line of sight, noticing the walkers flood near us.

"Could this day get any fuckin' worse?!" I roared.

Clementine passed me the knife and I told her to run like we had agreed, so she darted away out of the camp. I helped Travis up quickly, being careful to avoid his arm and gave the knife to him. I ran back to the walker from earlier, picking up the large branch to kill walkers with again. I hit a few over the head knocking them to the ground while Travis stabbed one.

"Let's go," I instructed, moving away out of the camp and leaving walkers behind.

We walked until we reached a large rock, when suddenly my eyes fell upon something else.

"Travis, look."

There were walkers lying on the ground, looking recently killed by arrows and another one was lacking a head.

"Clementine?!" I called out, panic filling every vein in my body.

"Clem!" Travis shouted after me.

There was no sign of her.

"I can't lose her Travis. We have to find her," I rushed, jogging another way.

I stopped, put my hands around my mouth, and yelled once more in desperation. "CLEMENTINE!"


	7. Stranger

**Hello kind readers, reviewers and followers! I should start by firstly apologizing for the lack of updates. My only excuses are that I was away for a week, had my prom and then suffered a severe mental block about writing. I simply couldn't bring myself to look at what I had written and edit it, or even write a new chapter. I was extremely unmotivated. I'm terribly sorry and I will try to keep the updates regular and often from now on! **

**So now Travis and Marceline have been split from Clem, what will become of our characters? Let's continue!**

* * *

The dark night sky had settled above us and we were still no closer to finding Clementine.

We walked back towards the river, hoping that she had returned to the water to find us somewhere near there.

"Do you think she's okay?" I worried.

"Clem's smart, she knows what she's doing," Travis assured me.

"I hope she's thought to go to the river. We'll be able to see her better if she's there."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Do... do you think we should tell her about Christa?"

"I'd like to focus on finding her first," I sighed. "But eventually she should know. I imagine she's already guessed."

Travis nodded and we continued our walking. I hoped we would find her quickly.

As we got closer to where the trees cleared, the river came into sight and Travis' hand suddenly flew out and grabbed my wrist. "Marce, look."

I stopped walking and squinted my eyes, noticing the lights Travis was talking about.

"Survivors?" He asked.

"Or bandits," I muttered.

We crept closer, peeking around the trees to avoid being seen.

There were two men. Despite the two lanterns that were on the floor near where they sat, I couldn't really see their faces given the direction of lighting on them, but I could hear their hushed voices.

"You think they got away?"

I looked at Travis in confusion. Were they talking about their group?

"I don't fuckin' care what happened to them," the other man replied. "They might have drowned or got bit by roamers. I'm just glad we got supplies."

The other man nodded his head, leaning over to his side and moving a bag into sight. I narrowed my eyes.

"That's Clem's bag," I whispered, rage filling inside of me. "They've been with her. I'm gonna f-"

Travis threw a hand over my mouth and I pushed it away in surprise.

"Will you shut up?" He snapped. "You're gonna get us seen and we're never gonna find her if we're dead."

"No shit," I returned, though I knew he was right. "Sorry."

Travis ignored the apology. One of the bandits shifted from where he sat, allowing the light to illuminate his face, revealing the identity.

"It's them."

"The bandits from earlier," Travis noticed too. "They haven't been with Clem, she left her bag at the fire, remember?"

"We should get it back."

"No, we should leave it now," he said. "You're not thinkin' clearly, Marceline. They have weapons and we have fuck all, they'd kill us before we even stepped near them."

I thought about what he said and sighed in defeat. "So what do we do, genius?" I wondered.

He bit his lip. "I guess we go back another way. Get back on the road to finding Clem. If we keep going north, maybe we'll find her? She knew where we were headed."

"Yeah, but would she have thought to go there alone and weaponless?"

Travis pulled a face of irritation. "I don't know what you want me to say, Marceline."

I rolled my eyes and began to walk away, leaving the bandits and Travis behind. He was annoying me.

I didn't know what to think of the situation. We had to find Clementine, but would she have thought to go away without us? I'd not left her alone since Savannah- she never had to be. I knew that annoyed Christa, because she thought Clem needed to learn how to look after herself. I stared at the ground as I walked, thinking about that. Maybe I had tried to protect the little girl too much, though she wasn't as much of a little girl anymore as she was when we first met.

"I'm getting flashbacks of the train to Savannah."

I turned my head to the side, seeing Travis by my side. He had a partial smile on his face.

"Really?" I asked, folding my arms and not holding back with my harshness. "Because when I remember that walk I went on, I recall us running away from walkers in a race to get everyone safe. It's not a fond memory."

Travis' smile faded and we fell silent. I didn't want to talk any more. I wanted to find Clementine.

The following morning, I jumped awake from the fright of a nightmare.

Travis looked over at me, his face showing concern, though he didn't ask. He didn't need to.

I sat up and brushed some of the dirt from the floor off my face and out of my hair. Sleeping on the ground was never appealing.

"No sign of any walkers," Travis informed me. "But we should get moving to find Clem now."

"That sounds like a sensible idea."

I stood up, my bones cracking as I moved from lying uncomfortably. I would have thought I'd be used to it after all this time.

I took a brief look at Travis. His bitten arm was bandaged with the supplies from my drugstore-backpack and I'd given him painkillers so it wasn't as bad. The scar across his eye looked more painful than before because it wasn't bandaged, and I began to fear it would get infected.

"How are your injuries?" I asked.

"I'm coping," he replied, casting me a little smile to make me feel better. If I'd been more careful, he wouldn't have gotten those injuries and we wouldn't have lost Clementine.

The woods all seemed the same to me. I didn't even know if we were traveling in the right direction, since we were relying on instinct. I couldn't tell the difference from one place to the next.

"I'm starving," I complained.

"Me too," Travis sighed.

"I think I'll collapse if I don't eat soon."

"We can hunt now," he suggested.

"With what?"

He shrugged, then waved his hands in front of him. "Guess I'll have to use these."

"You want to kill an innocent creature with your bare hands? It's bad enough using weapons. Plus, you only have one capable hand right now."

"What other choice do we have, Marcey?"

He was right. Travis edged away, his eyes scanning the area around us. I did the same, keeping my senses alert to find food. It wasn't easy.

"Marce," Travis said. "There's a camp set up here."

I peeked around the trees and spotted the camp. It had one single tent, which seemed to be in a suitable condition for sleeping. There wasn't anything else set up besides a fire, which now was burning out into smoke.

"Shall we go look?"

I shrugged. "There might be someone there. We can't steal from them."

"I know," he whispered. "But it's worth a check. They might have enough supplies to give us something."

I knew Clementine would be disappointed in me, so would Lee and my parents, but I stepped out from around the trees and approached the tent with Travis.

The tent was unzipped, and I slowly moved back the opening to see whether anyone was inside.

"Empty of people," Travis confirmed. "Not empty of food."

I grinned. "Really?!"

Travis nodded and climbed into the tent while I held the doorway open. He held up a can of food, a beaming smile on his face. I'd not seen him this happy for a long time.

"They've got loads here," he stated. "I doubt they'll even notice one can is gone, right?"

"Yeah," I agreed, my hunger outweighing my desire to make good choices. "One can won't make a-"

Something pressed against my back and there was a feint clicking sound. I knew that noise well enough to identify its source- a gun.

* * *

**If you could be so kind and spare a minute, I'd be so thankful if you would leave a little review. It's lovely to be reassured that I'm writing something people enjoy, and when I do something people don't like then it's good to hear that too. See you next chapter!**


	8. Questions

"Marceline?" Travis asked, sticking his head out of the tent. His face fell when he saw what was happening, his hands shooting up beside his head in defence. "We have nothing. Don't hurt her, please."

My breathing felt like it had stopped, yet my heart was steady in its beating. I'd trained myself to be calm in situations like this. Panic got you killed.

"You were gonna steal from me?" The stranger demanded.

"We haven't eaten anything for days, please don't shoot her. We were only going to take one can."

"Travis," I whispered, my eyes widening. I didn't want my life to end like this, and if he carried on talking like that I would certainly be shot. I couldn't leave Clem out there alone.

The gun moved away from my back and I let out a breath I'd been holding.

"I'm sorry to alarm you like that," the person apologised.

I moved quickly to Travis' side, turning around to look at the person that threatened me.

It was a young man, not much older than Travis and I. He had short blond hair and blue eyes that were piercing into mine.

"It's nice to meet more survivors. I thought I was the only one."

I smiled, feeling slightly more relaxed as they seemed genuine- and they weren't aiming a gun at me.

"I was just about to open a can of beans," he told us. "You're welcome to have some, too; you're probably starved."

"Thank you," I replied. "That's really kind of you." Perhaps not the words I'd expected to say to someone who had just been prepared to kill me.

The man shrugged, then began to relight the flames on the burnt-out fire to cook the food. I looked at Travis, who was smiling at me.

"I'm Henry," the man introduced.

"Travis," my friend greeted. "And this is Marceline."

"Cute name."

I blushed and Henry chuckled before grabbing one of the can of beans from the tent. He opened it with a knife and punctured two holes through the top sides on the can. He thread a thin rope though them and tied either end to sticks, making the can hang over the fire. It probably wasn't the best way to cook the beans, but I definitely thought it was inventive.

Henry sat on the floor beside the fire and I did too.

"So are you guys alone, or is there a group?"

"Just us," Travis informed him, sitting down beside me. "We had a group but... shit happens."

The man nodded his head knowingly.

"Are you alone, too?" I wondered.

"Been by myself for a couple months, I'd guess. The last people I was with... it didn't work out. People have their differences and there's conflicting ideas, know what I mean?"

I remembered all of the drama that had occurred between Kenny and Ben. "Yeah, I know."

"Have you been camping here long?" Travis inquired.

Henry tapped his chin. "Three days, maybe four. I don't really count."

"How did you manage to get all that food?"

I hit Travis on the arm slightly, finding his many questions to be rude. Henry just laughed it off.

"Lots of searching! I just collect it, even if I don't need it at the time. You never know how long it'll before you find more food, right?"

"Right," Travis answered.

Henry smiled and took the beans down from the fire, moving them quickly to place it on the floor. "Burns your hands doing this. I don't recommend it."

I giggled, watching Henry pull the lid from the can completely. Travis seemed to watch me curiously.

"It's not very nice manners eating this," Henry chuckled. "But you've got to use your hands."

I shrugged.

Henry offered me the can of beans first, and I politely took a small handful to eat. Travis took some next, then Henry. I was so happy to be eating food again.

"If you guys don't have anywhere else to stay, you're very welcome to stay with me here."

"Thank you, Henry," I smiled. "Though we were looking for a member of the group. She's just a little girl, wears a cap and a purple shirt. I need to find her."

"I'm sorry you got split up," he said. "I'd love to help you find her. It's not safe in the woods for people to be alone, especially not little girls."

I looked down to the floor and Travis put his arm around me. I didn't want to think of what danger Clementine might have been in.

"Your help would really be appreciated," Travis accepted.

"Let's get searching then, shall we?" Henry proposed.

I stood up and nodded my head. "Let's find Clementine."

* * *

We helped Henry pack up the tent and supplies before the three of us set off to locate Clementine.

We were wandering through the woods, all wanting to know more about each other.

"So how long have you two known one another?" Henry as me first.

"Since the first year," Travis answered. "We met when my teacher got his leg caught in a bear trap. One of my classmates and I got away, thanks to Marcey and her group."

I knew the memory was sad for Travis to reflect on. He wanted to save his teacher so badly and we just left him. The Travis I knew now was so much different from the one back then.

"You guys seem to have a good friendship," Henry observed. "It's nice seeing a guy and girl just be friends."

"Well-" I began, but was cut off by Travis.

"She's not just my friend."

"Oh?" Henry half-smiled, clearly wanting to know more.

"We've been through a hell of a lot together. I don't see her as just my friend now."

"Family?"

Travis glanced at me, then back to the man. He said nothing.

"Go on, Trav. What were you gonna say?" I urged.

He narrowed his eyes and smiled, so I just lightly punched his arm and began to laugh.

"Hey, look here."

Henry crouched to the ground and pointed up close to a marking in the dirt. It was a small letter 'C', which immediately caught my attention.

"Did you have a plan for if you got split?" Henry enquired. "I know some groups write their initials or a symbol to say where they've been. Kind of like the Hansel and Gretel story."

"Interesting comparison," I said. "We didn't discuss that though. Do you think it's Clementine?"

"My guess says yes," Travis smiled. "We're gonna find her, Marce."

I hugged Travis in happiness, then we began walking again. I knew we would find Clementine soon.

But when we followed the path through the forest, we found nothing but a few walkers who were roaming around aimlessly. I didn't want to give up the search for Clementine, but all I could think about was that we could be looking in the entirely wrong place. I had no idea where Clem was, and she probably had no idea where I was. She might have been dead for all I knew. No, I couldn't think that way. Clem had to be alive.

* * *

We didn't find her that day. The woods became dark and eerie, making us stop to camp for the night.

"I can keep watch," Travis offered. "I'm not too tired."

"You kept watch last! You need to rest," I stated.

"Marcey-"

"No. Sleep."

"I can watch," Henry offered. "I have slept a lot."

I wasn't sure about having Henry in control of our safety while we slept, but I was getting so drained of energy that I was in no mood to say no. Henry leaned against a tree while Travis lay down near me. I shut my eyes, though couldn't sleep. I stayed like that for a few minutes until the light snores belonging to Travis made me feel more comfortable. It was still not enough to help me sleep, so I rolled over and opened my eyes.

"Can't sleep?" Henry asked upon realising I wasn't asleep.

I sat up, shaking my head. "I'm tired but I'm just so worried about Clementine. She might be sleeping alone in the woods right now."

"We'll find her," Henry assured with determination in his voice.

I brushed my hair from my face and rubbed my tired eyes. When I opened them, Henry was watching me with a small smile.

"What?"

"I'm just curious about you and Travis. There's really nothing going on with you two?"

I blushed and let out a small laugh. "I don't know anymore... I thought so a while ago but..." My voice drifted off.

"I get it," Henry said. "You lose a lot of people in this world now. It's difficult to meet people and confess how you feel when there's always a risk of losing them suddenly."

I thought about his words. That was how I felt, I'd just never thought about it properly. Seeing how it ended for Christa and Omid gave me enough evidence why relationships weren't good in the apocalypse.

"He likes you, though."

I looked over to Travis' sleeping form. "It'd be better for the both of us if he didn't."

Henry didn't respond or give any acknowledgement of my answer so we sat in a few long seconds of a comfortable silence.

"You should get to sleep," he stated suddenly. "We've got a long day ahead of us.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Goodnight, Henry."

I lay back down and faced Travis, though he'd turned in his sleep so I could no longer see his face. I let out a sigh before closing my eyes. I prayed that we would find Clementine soon, before the tiredness consumed my mind and I drifted into my dreams.

* * *

**Thank you for continuing with the reading, and big thanks especially to glynnismta, paradoxilla and 20- you guys motivate me to keep publishing this, so I owe you the biggest thank you. **


	9. Suspicions

"Wake up, sleepy."

My eyes fluttered awake and I was met with Henry smiling at me nearby.

"Morning," I greeted, wiping my eyes.

"I was beginning to think you'd never wake up," Henry chuckled, walking over with a can of beans to a fire he'd started up.

"I feel like I've been sleeping for years," I laughed, sitting up and moving over to the fire which warmed up my cold skin.

"You needed the rest," Travis replied, sitting beside me on the floor. Something about his tone seemed unusual, and I cast a confused expression that was quickly ignored.

We waited for the beans to cook in silence for a few minutes. I was staring into the flames, watching them crackle and rise to the can of beans. Travis was staring at the ground some of the time, but mostly he was looking around us as if he was on alert. Henry stood up, brushing the dirt from his jeans.

"Nature calls, I'll be back in a minute."

"Okay," I smiled quickly.

Henry disappeared through the trees, leaving us alone with the food that was now cooling down. I took this opportunity to confront my friend about his behaviour.

"What's up?"

"Nothing."

I raised an eyebrow. "Clearly there's something wrong, c'mon."

Travis' gaze moved to the trees that Henry had gone through. "I have a bad feeling."

"Okay," I responded. "About what?"

"I'm not sure about Henry," he whispered. "How could he have gotten all of that food? We were a huge group and struggled to get enough food to eat most days. He's one person with more supplies than we've had for months."

"I guess you're right," I realised, looking at the can of beans. "Maybe he's earned it. You know, helping out with people and stuff."

"How many people do you find in the woods, Marceline?" He snapped.

I jolted back slightly in surprise. Travis was usually cautious everywhere we went, but the anger was never directed at me.

"I'm sorry," he apologised, though I wasn't sure it was genuine. "I just... I don't trust him right now. How far has he gone anyway?"

I turned around just as Henry walked back over and sat down again.

"Is something wrong, guys?" He asked as he opened the can, offering the food out to us. "You seem a little tense."

"We're just worried about Clem," I sighed. It wasn't really a lie.

"As soon as we've had breakfast, we'll get moving again. I'm sure we'll find her in no time."

"Yeah," I forced a smile. "I hope so."

* * *

We walked and walked, passing the same looking trees all of the time. We passed another 'C' marking on the ground not far from where we'd camped for the night, which gave me more hope that we'd find the little girl again soon.

I was more worried about Clementine than I had been for a long time. I knew she was smart and she could handle herself against walkers, but I also knew that it wasn't just walkers a person had to be worried about- if the bandits found her again then she'd be outnumbered. I didn't even want to think about what she'd been through.

We set up camp again for the third night without Clementine, having not found her during the day. I was growing increasingly more scared for her safety. Clementine had never been alone this long, especially after a trauma. The last time it happened was when Lee died and she had to find us alone... She never should have had to go through what she did.

"I'm going to scan the area for walkers," Henry told us, holding a knife in his hand. "We don't want any surprises."

"Good idea," I smiled, sitting beside the fire we had made.

Travis watched Henry with narrowed eyes as he walked away. Once the young man was out of earshot, I spun to my friend, the rage I'd felt build all day suddenly bursting out.

"What's wrong with you?" I demanded. "You've been acting weird all day. Disliking him isn't going to improve our chances of finding Clementine."

"I still think there's something else going on here," he muttered in response, showing no anger this time. "Don't you think there's something... off... about the whole thing?"

"No," I said bluntly. "He's nice. He's being kinder than others would be to us."

"Yeah, okay."

I folded my arms. "Travis."

He let out a groan and covered his eyes with his hands. "I'm allowed to have different opinions than you, Marcey."

I could have argued back, but at this point I decided that I couldn't be bothered. "Fine. Let me change the bandage."

Travis moved his hands from his face and held out his injured hand to me while I unzipped the backpack, taking out fresh bandage. I unravelled the old coverings from Travis' hand and examined the wound that he still had. His skin was torn and bloody from the dog bite, though it could have been much worse than it was.

"I think this will be better within a week," I decided while redressing it. "Do you need more meds?"

"No, I'm good."

I said nothing while I zipped the bag shut again. My eyes moved back to Travis' face, the cut across his eye capturing my attention. I moved closer to him and put a hand on his face near the cut, checking to see whether it was infected.

"I hoped this would have healed quicker," I sighed.

Travis stared at me for a long second before moving his eyes past me and at nothing in particular. I took my hand away and then moved near to a tree, sitting with my back against it.

"Are you angry with me?"

I said nothing.

"Marceline."

"No," I replied, keeping my eyes set on the ground beside me. "Just, this is all really stressful. I'm fuckin' scared, Travis, for if we don't find her."

"Clem's gonna be okay," he reassured.

I nodded my head once and then lay down on the floor. I was getting tired of this. I wanted the group back, safe in a house with supplies like we had been. Cities were bad for walkers, but at least we had shelter there. I closed my eyes, falling asleep.


	10. Answers

**A longer chapter! Thank you for the lovely reviews containing your predictions and thoughts, I hope this chapter is good and lives to your expectations! **

* * *

Nightmares plagued my sleep, forcing me to witness every single possibility of what could happen to Clementine.

It was now the fourth day without the little girl, and I could feel my hope of finding her decreasing by the hours. Despite the clues that could be leading us to her, I doubted that she would continue leaving them for so long without us.

I wondered whether Clem was alone. Was she okay? Had she found food, had she found shelter? There were so many questions. Was she looking for Travis and I?

"You're awake," Travis stated, noticing me move.

I sat up and brushed my short hair back from my face. "Day four."

Travis sighed at my comment. Maybe he was thinking about how long we'd been separated from the little girl too.

"Henry heard something a few minutes ago from a distance and he's gone to check it out."

I stood and went to the fire that had the beans cooking over it, warming my hands. "Are you still feeling suspicious today?"

"I don't know. I guess."

I rolled my eyes. Within a few minutes, Henry came back to where we had camped.

"There are a few walkers up ahead. Travis, will you come get rid of them?"

"Sure," Travis said then stood and walked over to where Henry was.

He turned back to me with an expression of neutrality that I couldn't decipher before disappearing into the woods following Henry.

It had been a long time since I was alone. I rarely ever had to be, not in the group that I'd been with. I felt a rare feeling of anxiety at my situation. Being by myself wasn't so much a problem, but being alone and weaponless was. I hoped Travis and Henry would return soon. My senses were on high alert while I stood leaning against a tree, patiently waiting. I counted in my head how long they'd been gone, until a sound of a snapping branch caught my attention immediately.

"It's only me," Henry informed as he approached from the trees, clearly trying to calm me down as I'd spun around rather fast.

"Where's Travis?" I asked, looking behind him.

"He said he could handle the walkers himself," the young man shrugged. "Said we should go hunting for some food. I don't know about you, but we're both sick of just eating beans."

"Okay then," I agreed, though slightly reluctantly.

Henry smiled at me warmly and then we began our hunt. We had one knife between us and Travis had the gun, but I knew the knife would give us a cleaner kill and attract no walkers that could be lingering nearby.

We crept through the trees silently, not wanting to startle any animals that could be around. It was quite an eerie and uncomfortable silence and I just felt like I should be waiting back at the camp for Travis, until there was a moaning sound that redirected my attention away from my friend.

"Walker?" I whispered to Henry.

He didn't speak, but waved his hand for me to follow. We moved around a tree and crouched down to be out of sight.

"You kill this one. I want you to do it."

Despite the odd instruction, I nodded and took the knife tight in my hand. I breathed deeply in preparation to kill before jumping out, weapon ready to go through the brain of the monster- except this was no monster.

Travis lay on the floor, a hand holding onto the back of his head. He opened his eyes and I had never seen him look so frightened.

"Travis?" I gasped, dropping to his side instantly to look at his head. "Henry!"

"No, Marce-" Travis tried.

Henry moved out of cover and walked towards us.

"He's hurt. What happened?" I panicked.

"I hit him. He should have been knocked out."

"What the fuck?" I roared, turning my body to the young man. "Why?"

"He's our prey, Marceline. Don't you get it?"

"You're a fuckin' psychopath!" I screamed. "What do you mean 'he's our prey'?"

Henry shook his head at my words, his face stoic. "How do you think we survive in this world? Where would we get the nutrition in these woods? You didn't really think I lived off beans, surely."

I could feel the tears rising in my eyes, and that was when I realised how terrible the situation was that I was in. Travis was injured, though I found that it was not a powerful strike to leave him with any lasting damage and he would be fine again soon, but that was the least of the problem. Now I was faced with a cannibalistic maniac who had probably planned on killing the both of us with a gun he pulled from behind his shirt. And all I had was a knife.

Henry aimed it at my friend's head, making my brain kick in to full ideas to prevent the death.

"Why did you want me to do it?" I asked calmly.

Henry's eyes moved from Travis to me. "Why? You know why, you gave the reason yourself," he explained, voice growing in some sort of aggression. I realised I was going about this in the wrong way as he shifted the gun to my direction.

"Henry, don't," I pleaded. "I... I understand why you do this to people. The three of us could survive like that. Together."

Henry raised an eyebrow. "Three?"

"Two," I said, giving him the words he seemed to want. "Wouldn't that be good? You wouldn't be alone anymore."

"I... guess."

"But we can't kill Travis with the gun, it's too messy and it'll attract walkers," I sighed, looking down to Travis who looked like a small child suddenly, completely vulnerable and defenceless. "We need to use the knife."

Henry considered this, then to my relief he lowered the gun.

"Can you do it?" I hoped. "Teach me how to, since I've never had to kill a real human."

Henry nodded and I stood up slowly, walking towards him. We exchanged weapons and he gave me a small smile, then he went over to Travis.

As he began to lower to Travis' side, he flicked the knife in his hand so the blade faced the victim.

"You've got to cut here," he moved the knife closer to Travis' neck until it just sat lightly on top of his skin. If this went wrong, my friend would be dead.

Henry looked back to check I was watching, a small smile ready on his face. I didn't hesitate, raising the gun and firing it twice.

My ears rang as the body of the cannibal dropped lifelessly beside Travis, who was breathing heavily and staring at me wide eyed.

I ran to Travis and put a hand on his face. "I'm so sorry, it's okay now. I should have trusted what you said. I promise I will now."

"You had me scared there, Marce."

"I'd never kill you," I replied strongly. "We need to get out of here now, the shots will have drawn attention."

"Yeah," Travis agreed, then forced himself from the ground. I caught a glimpse of the blood on the back of his head and knew I'd have to check that once we cleared the area.

As we walked away from the scene of the killing, I risked a glance back at the dead body of the cannibal, seeing the blood seeping through his shirt from where I had shot, and the sly grin no longer on his evil face.

* * *

Once we had moved out of the surrounding area and decided we'd covered enough distance to be remotely safe, I examined the injury Travis had sustained.

"So, what happened?" I asked while moving his long hair out of the way of the wound.

"We were just walking... We'd been walking too long and I asked where the walkers were since I couldn't see or hear any. Then I noticed there was another letter on the ground, but it was fresh... Clem definitely hadn't been there. I realised that he'd been tricking us."

I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach. Henry had been fooling us the whole time, putting fake marks on the ground to make us believe we were on the right path. I could have cried. For all I knew, we might've been searching in the entirely wrong direction because of that man.

"So then he dropped the act. It sounds weird, but it was almost like he was a completely different person so suddenly. I demanded he tell me why he was playing with our minds like that, misleading us, then he got angry and pushed me back."

Travis winced as I put my fingers around where he'd been hit. He had a cut that thankfully wasn't too deep, but it would definitely hurt him for a couple of days.

"He basically told me everything that had happened, or implied it at least. He's been killing everyone, Marceline... Groups of innocent people. He made them think he was one of them, then just murdered them to get the food they had collected... just before making them into the food, too."

My hands froze and so did my breathing as a thought invaded. "You don't think..."

"No, he didn't get her. Clementine is safe, I know it," Travis comforted.

I dropped my hands and his hair fell back over the injury. Travis moved to face me and sighed.

"I guess you figured out that he hit me with the gun next."

I frowned, moving my eyes away from him so I didn't have to look at his injuries.

"What's up?"

"We wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for my stupidity."

"What d'ya mean, Marcey?" He asked, his voice confused as he drew his eyebrows together.

"I should have been looking out for walkers when Omid got bit, I should have gone with Christa so she wasn't alone, I should have realised the dog was potentially dangerous, I should have said we'd go with Clem instead of fighting those walkers-"

Travis let out an annoyed sound, making me turn to see what he was frustrated at. "You can't keep taking responsibility for everything that goes wrong in the world. You're one person, you can't put all the weight on your shoulders. We're a group, we've all had shared responsibilities and tried to do our best with them. None of this is your fault, do you hear me?"

I bit my lip and nodded.

"I'll take first watch tonight," I volunteered. Before Travis could object, I held a hand up to stop him talking. "You've been hit on the head with a gun, go to sleep."

My friend paused, though couldn't come up with a reason not to sleep. He lay down to the side while I stayed sat up to watch for any walkers that decided to pay us a visit. If walkers could feel regret, they definitely would after crossing me in such a bad mood.

After some minutes of silence and thinking Travis was asleep, his voice startled me.

"What did you mean when you said it would be better if I didn't like you?"

I hesitated, cursing myself for not thinking Travis could have heard me when I said that to Henry. He must have still been awake when I was talking.

"There... uh, there's a lot of stuff we have to deal with now. I can't really put how I feel into words."

"You're scared of losing someone you love."

I stayed silent.

"It's okay, Marceline. 'Night."

I stared at Travis, slightly taken aback by his sudden questions. He was right, though. Losing everyone in the group was bad enough, even those I hadn't known very long. It was difficult losing anyone. I thought of Omid and Christa, knowing that I didn't want to go through a loss like that when I had other responsibilities. But if I did already have feelings for someone, how could I pretend they weren't there just because I was frightened if how it would end?


	11. Girl

Two days later, on our sixth day without Clementine, we were fighting to hold onto any last shred of hope. Travis and I were feeling drained, the lack of food and water beginning to take its toll on us. I could feel myself becoming more snappy and easily provoked into irritation. My mind sometimes cast itself back to Henry and I would be so filled with anger that I couldn't speak. I still couldn't comprehend how anyone could behave like that, but it wasn't the first time we'd had to deal with cannibalism.

It had started to snow again in the early morning and I felt like I would freeze if we didn't get out of the woods soon or find shelter of some kind. The wet snow was sticking onto my exposed skin and melting through my clothes, making me shiver constantly as we walked.

"Do you think we'll find shelter?" I hoped.

"We'd be lucky," Travis frowned. "Maybe we could camp under the trees again and light a fire to improve the warmth."

"Alright."

"How about we walk until sunset? It won't be long. Then we'll settle down for the night."

I hummed in agreement. We had no idea where we were going anymore and I didn't think we would find the little girl any longer. As we walked, I reached into the pocket of my jeans and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

"What's that?"

I unfolded it and studied the picture of Clementine and I that she had drawn. There was a lump in my throat as I thought about the young girl, wondering where she was.

"We're never gonna find her," I mumbled.

"Hey, don't think like that. Clem's learned from the best on how to survive, I've seen how she watches you whenever you have to hunt or kill walkers."

"She does?"

"All the time."

I felt a small smile tug on my mouth and folded the picture, returning it back to the safety of my pocket. Maybe I had underestimated her.

* * *

We made a fire and sat on a clear patch of ground that wasn't covered in snow. The view from where we sat was actually one of the most beautiful sights I had seen for a long time. There was a clearing in the trees that meant we could see the sun setting across the woods.

I turned to the side, looking at Travis' face glowing in the orange light. It emphasised the scar on his eye, though he'd seemed unaffected by it now.

"The other day," I began, looking back at the sunset. "When you said that I was scared of losing you, you were right."

Travis tilted his head slightly. "But you won't have to lose me."

"But after seeing Omid and Christa... Then how easily we've lost Clem. Lee was another example of how you can turn your back for one minute and it can all be over. I don't think I can go through that again."

"I know, Marcey."

"But I've also been thinking... What a terrible thing it would be if we pretended we didn't feel anything and something happened to one of us. I don't want it to be like that."

Travis gave a little smile as he turned back to watching the sunset. We sat in a comfortable silence, his hand placed over mine, both unusually relaxed.

After a while I stood and brushed my jeans down to rid of dirt, then went to the fire to make the flames rise. We'd caught a fox to eat and I was starving, so I hoped it would cook much quicker than it was.

Poking at the orange flickers of flame, I felt as though I was being watched. A small smile grew on my face as I glanced over at Travis- only the smile vanished as quickly as it appeared when I realised he was still admiring the sunset in the distance.

My body tensed and I stopped tending to the fire, instead looking around and hoping I wouldn't find something until a flash of movement made me rise to my feet and swipe the gun in my hands.

"Come out," I demanded, aiming it in the direction of the movement. I wasn't entirely sure if it was a walker or an animal, but I couldn't take any chances anymore.

"Okay."

The voice made my eyebrows raise. It was small and quiet, almost shy like a child. For a second my heart skipped a beat as I thought it might have been Clementine. Instead, an anonymous girl emerged. She had long brown hair tied back into a ponytail, with golden eyes and a pale complexion.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Ashleigh."

This girl was smart, I decided, since she knew only to talk when answering a question. It was a trick I guessed she'd been trained to do with whoever her group was.

"Where's your group?"

I sensed Travis approach and the movement of Ashleigh's eyes confirmed it.

"Dead."

My hand faltered holding the gun. Another kid who'd witnessed more pain than they should. I lowered the gun slowly, keeping my finger resting upon the trigger for an emergency. At my removal of the threat, the young girl visibly calmed and spoke more.

"I didn't mean to scare you," Ashleigh explained. "I was trying to see whether you were good people or bandits... you're not bandits, are you?"

"No, we're not," Travis assured her. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen, I think. I mean, that's if my birthday has passed yet. I've lost track of the days."

I shared a look with Travis and he knew immediately what I was thinking. I couldn't let this girl go away alone when she was young and had no group. I'd go crazy if someone did that to Clementine.

"You can stay with us, if you want. We're not much but we can hunt and we can defend ourselves," Travis suggested to Ashleigh.

The younger girl smiled at the offer and nodded her head. "I'd like that, thank you."

I welcomed Ashleigh to sit beside the fire with Travis and I while we talked. Since he didn't seem to have a bad feeling about this girl and neither did I, we were both put at ease about the situation.

"So your group... Would you mind me asking what happened?" I asked as politely as I could.

Ashleigh stared into the flames and shrugged. "There were just four of us, including me. I was the youngest and I guess that's why I'm still alive- because they always tried to protect me. About a week ago, maybe two, I went with Fred to try hunting but when we got back..."

I waited patiently as she took a breath, her voice starting to shake.

"Georgie and Pat were dead and all our supplies were gone. Georgie had been like a sister to me and then she was just gone... It was a recent kill, Fred told me. He thought the killer had fled when we were almost back, so maybe they heard us or something."

I gave a knowing glance to Travis. It must have been Henry that did that to her group.

"I'm really sorry about that," I apologised.

"It's okay. As for Fred, we got attacked by a bunch of roamers a couple days ago and he sacrificed himself so I could escape. I kinda think... it was because he lost hope in surviving and didn't want to see me die like the others? He'd already seen it happen to his own kid. Maybe it was some sort of redemption thing," Ashleigh stared into the distance with narrowed eyes while she thought about her own ideas. A frown was settled on her face, then she directed a question to Travis and I. "What about you guys?"

I bit my lip and Travis cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"You don't have to say," Ashleigh mumbled.

"Uh, no it's fine. We were just a big group for a while... but I guess different things took different people until there were just a few of us. Now it's just us two," I sighed. "And... And a little girl who we're trying to find."

"A little girl?"

I took the picture from my pocket and showed it to Ashleigh, who then spoke boldly.

"I'll help you find her," she decided. "It's scary out here alone."

I smiled at the young girl, feeling the hope come back to me. If this girl had made it alone for a few days then Clem could too, and the three of us together could find her. I just knew we could.

* * *

**Another stranger in the woods? I must admit, i kinda love writing new characters into stuff. **

**Once again, I thank all of you readers so much for the constant support you have given to this story. Whenever I get a little email about a new follower, favourite or review, I feel so happy and that's all thanks to you! **

**I'd be so grateful if you'd leave a little review! I love seeing what you guys think is going to happen, and with the introduction of Ashleigh I'm intrigued as to what you think her significance is to the story. Thank you! **


	12. Acquaintances

**What's this? An early chapter? Well, today has been a very important day and I just got accepted into university! I'm so happy I thought I'd spread that happiness with another chapter. :D**

**I'm aware that some readers are a bit confused regarding the timeline, so in the end note (as to not spoil anything about this chapter) I've explained further. **

* * *

"I hate the cold," Ashleigh informed.

We'd been walking for hours since waking up and the snow had become heavier on the ground, making it difficult to move as easily. The crisp ice crunched under our feet as we travelled, reminding me of the day when Omid started a snowball fight.

"I miss the Florida sun," she continued to create conversation.

"You're from Florida?" I asked. "We knew a family from there."

"Yeah, my parents and I were visiting my sister in Kentucky though when the outbreak started so I was quite far away from home. She was gonna get married a few days later."

I said nothing because I didn't know what I could possibly reply.

"My dad used to make jokes at the start," Ashleigh recollected, a small smile on her face with her memories. "He told me that he didn't like Joe anyways so it was a good job the apocalypse started and Gaby didn't marry him."

I let out a little laugh. "Sounds like something my dad would have come out with."

We continued our journey in a comfortable silence. Ashleigh amazed me, she was so young and had witnessed a lot in the past few weeks alone. I guessed she'd seen a lot more before then, too. Yet somehow, she acted so positive. It reminded me of Clem in the days before Lee died. She always hoped to find her parents. As we searched for signs of Clementine, Ashleigh hummed old songs that I remembered from pre-apocalypse. I joined in with the tune, smiling as we went.

"C'mon, Travis, you can do vocals."

"I played guitar in band, I didn't sing," he laughed.

"I'm sure you're a wonderful singer," Ashleigh giggled. "We could change the song and you can rap, if you want."

"I think that'd be even worse," he chuckled.

"Aww, Travis, try to rap!"

Travis shook his head, laughing as we walked.

"Christmas carols! I bet it's Christmas soon," Ashleigh grinned before beginning to sing the songs.

I joined in while Travis kept his stance on not singing, though I was sure I could hear him humming along with the song.

In that moment, I felt almost carefree. Clementine was still at the front of my mind and I wished that she could have been signing with us, but the happy tone made my hopes raise that we could find the little girl. I felt like apocalypse wasn't happening, like I was just walking thorough the woods with friends.

But moments like that never last.

The shriek pierced my ears, and I spun on my heels as Ashleigh was screaming and reaching out to me to save her. This was too late though, the walker was biting into her at the shoulder. Travis fired the gun and the walker fell backwards.

I rushed to Ashleigh as she was crying loudly, the positivity suddenly sucked out of her life and replaced with a young, frightened girl.

"Help me! Please, don't let me die like this!"

I felt the tears sting my eyes as my heart raced. God, I was so fucking stupid. I'd let it happen again- let my guard down for five minutes and now another person was going to die. Because of me.

"Marcey!" Travis cried out.

There were walkers swarming around us, and we only had a few bullets left, a knife, and a bitten teenager.

Travis aimed and shot at a few of them while I stabbed the others, but there were still more approaching. The gun clicked again, though nothing fired.

"Out of ammo!" Travis gasped. "We're gonna have to run!"

"Where do you suppose we run, Trav?!"

Ashleigh's rapid breathing and loud sobs weren't helping and now it was two against five oncoming walkers.

I faced Travis with an expression of helplessness. That had to be the end for us. Trapped, practically defenceless and terrified. Then, suddenly, there were sounds that shocked me, freezing me on the spot but filling me with a moment of joy. Gun fire rang out five times and the walkers dropped to the floor, completely motionless.

"Is anyone hurt?" An unfamiliar voice asked.

When I located the source as a woman with curly hair, my eyes shifted to Ashleigh.

"She's been bitten?"

I nodded. The woman approached the young girl cautiously and examined her shoulder.

"There's nothing we can do about this," she sadly stated.

"N-nothing?" Ashleigh sobbed.

The woman looked back at us. "No. I'm sorry."

She stepped away from Ashleigh, and I wrapped my arms around her but was careful to avoid the bite.

"I should have been more alert," I apologised. "I'm sorry. This is my fault."

"It wasn't," she shot back immediately, though was fighting to talk through her tears. "I guess it was meant to happen."

I let her go of the hug as she wiped her eyes.

"I... I don't want to go like this. Can you..."

I followed her gaze to the gun that the woman held. Ashleigh wanted me to kill her? I couldn't do that to a child.

"I'll do it," Travis volunteered.

The woman passed her gun to Travis without any question.

I turned around so I couldn't see what was happening when a weak voice called out to me one last time.

"I hope you find your friend," Ashleigh told me. "And thank you for helping me forget."

"Thank you, too. Goodbye, Ashleigh."

"It'll be okay, you won't feel a thing," Travis told the girl sadly, his voice heavy with sympathy.

"Bye, Travis."

I shut my eyes and the gunshot burst through my ears. I'd let down another person- someone I could have saved.

I felt arms embrace me into a hug and I leaned into it.

"We can't save everyone."

"I know," I replied to Travis.

We were silent for while until I moved to look at the woman that had killed the walkers and offered her gun. She looked back at me sadly.

"Thanks for the help," I said. "Um, I'm sorry, I don't know your name."

"Tavia," she informed.

"I'm Travis," my friend spoke. "This is Marceline."

I looked quizzically at Travis. I took his control in the conversation as suspicion.

"Was I right in hearing that you're looking for someone?" Tavia enquired.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "A little girl from our group."

"Well I come from a camp not far from here," Tavia explained. "We recently got another group come in with two girls, the younger is probably eleven and the older fifteen."

"Can you describe the younger one?" I asked, the desperation evident in my tone.

"Dark hair, curly and cut short. She's pretty tough, deals with situations well as they arise."

I looked up to Travis, my heart racing. That did sound like Clementine.

"We're based at an old hardware store so it's safe and secure. There's quite a lot of people in our community and I can guarantee that if you were to join us, it would be much better than being out here in the open."

"That does sound..."

"We'll come with you," I stated. "If Clem's there then we have to go."

"Great," Tavia smiled. "Let's to before walkers come, that shot would have drawn them."

The woman began to walk away and I took Travis' hand in my own, feeling like our struggles were over. No more bad people in the woods, no more death of people I begin to care about... Soon we'd be back with Clementine and the three of us could find safety again. That was all I wanted.

* * *

**Leaving it at a bit of a cliff hanger! But you have a shorter wait until the next chapter (unless you're reading this once it's fully published.. then you have no wait).**

**Now to explain the timeline! I think I've done this right.. **

**So Clementine spends one night at the cabin, which is the day Marceline and Travis split up from her. The second day then is when Carver finds the cabin and the group have to leave. This is the day Marceline and Travis meet Henry. The cabin group walk for five days until they reach the mountains and meet Kenny again, and within these five days this story has taken place. When the cabin group get to the lodge, they are taken away to Howes and one night passes. The following chapter will occur on the evening that Kenny reveals his plan to escape. **

**I hope that was all correct, if not I'll probably cry because of how long i spent trying to work that out. Pretty embarrassing. **

**Anyway, much love to you all for continuing to read- I am so thankful for that. See you next chapter!**


	13. Together

**Thank you lovely reviewers! I hope this chapter is good you all of you! **

* * *

The hardware store, Howe's, came into my sight once we reached the town and my heart started to race. I could see the fences that secured it even in the darkness of the evening sky, comforting me that it would be safe. That Clem would be safe. We climbed out of the car that Tavia was driving and walked towards the door that was closed and protected with shutters.

Out of nerves, my hand flew to Travis' and he smiled at my act in order to reassure me that we would be ok. Tavia knocked on the shutters and a voice on the other side spoke gruffly.

"Who's there?"

"Tavia," the woman replied. "With two new people."

There was a brief silence before the shutter was lifted and we were faced against a man with a gun strapped across his chest and pointing at us.

"State your names," he ordered.

This wasn't the community I'd anticipated.

"Travis," my friend introduced.

"And the girl?"

I narrowed my eyes at his attitude. "Marceline."

"I'll take 'em from ya now, Tavia," he said, preparing to walk around us to escort us to our new destination.

"No that's okay, Troy," Tavia refused. "You stay watching the door."

"Okay."

As Tavia guided us away from Troy, I turned my head back to see him watching us from a distance with critical eyes.

The hardware store had a cold feeling to it that made me feel less comfortable than I'd hoped. Tavia said this was a community, but I felt like I was going into a prison with the guns and the lack of life. While the walls and floor looked old and dirty, my eyes immediately caught sight of something wonderful.

"Look at all this food," I whispered to Travis, who looked as equally in awe as I was.

"We collected it for a long time," Tavia explained with a small smile having heard my comment. "Any newcomers gave their food too. We share here, everyone who earns their keep will get to have it."

As we passed through red doors, there were suddenly more people all roaming around doing their own tasks. We received a few curious glances, even a couple of glares from the people that stood on top of the cabinets like guards.

From one corner of my eye, I saw a window built into a wall that overlooked the entire store. There was a figure there, and when I focused my vision I identified it as a man.

"That's Bill Carver," Tavia informed. "He runs the place, makes sure we're all playing our part in the work that needs to be done. We've been trying to get electricity up and running again, which will be so good to have back."

"I miss that," I sighed.

"Bill is talking to someone at the minute," Tavia continued to speak as we headed towards another shutter. "But he said he'll talk with you tomorrow. Right now, I hope you understand that we have to take precautions here."

"Yeah," I replied, rather confused at what she was getting to.

When we reached the shutter, there stood a ginger haired woman with a strong accent spoke. "You guys are new?"

I nodded my head.

"Well it's nice to meet y'all."

"You too," Travis said.

The woman lifted the shutter and I noticed that there was a large group of people sat around a fire outside having a discussion of their own. My eyes darted over them, trying to see Clem.

"She's not here," I suddenly panicked.

"What the fuck is goin' on here, where's the girl?" Travis demanded to Tavia.

The response was the end of a gun pressed against his torso.

"Like I say," Tavia snapped. "We take precautions. You'll be outside tonight. The girl will be here soon."

"Who said we planned on staying?" I asked. "We came to get Clementine and go."

"Carver will speak with you tomorrow," she continued, not lowering the gun.

I felt another gun presence behind me from the ginger haired woman as we were forced outside into the cold.

The people in the group turned to face us now, though I couldn't see properly in the dull glow of the fire. I looked up to Travis in shock at how easily we'd fallen for the trap. God knew what kind of horrors we'd be in for with this anonymous group.

I felt Travis put an arm around my shoulders to keep me close while I was slightly overwhelmed with panic. I'd become better at controlling that, but in the moment I was nothing but frightened.

When one person in the group stood up and slowly walked towards us, Travis shot out to them angrily. "Don't you come any closer- we don't need any trouble here."

The person stopped in their tracks. "Travis? And hell, is that you, Marcey?"

My mouth dropped, my heart stopped and I felt Travis' arm fall.

"K...Kenny?" I mumbled. The name felt strange to say again, especially saying it to the man himself.

He stepped forward again and I broke out into a run, his face becoming more visible closer to the flames before becoming blurred again from my tears.

I flung my arms around the man and his held me close too while I cried in happiness.

"I thought you were dead," I sobbed. "I... How..."

"It don't matter now," Kenny replied softly, gently patting my back in comfort. "Fuckin' hell. You look different."

I stepped back and smiled at Kenny, who also looked like he had aged significantly. He still had wore a hat though.

"Nice beard," Travis commented as he stepped to my side.

Kenny laughed. "It's good to see you kids again. I thought I never would."

"Me neither," I agreed as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

"Wow," Kenny smiled, his head shaking slowly in disbelief. "Just, wow. I can't believe this. Come sit by the fire, meet everyone."

"Okay," I grinned.

Travis and I went to the fire where there were small chairs set out in a circle. There was only one spare seat in the group until one man stood and moved aside, gesturing for me to sit beside Kenny.

"Guys, this is Marceline and Travis," Kenny introduced to the group, receiving a mix of greetings in response.

"This is Sarita," Kenny smiled as he looked to the woman sitting on his other side.

"It's nice to meet you," Sarita greeted. "Kenny has talked about the two of you before."

"I'm Nick," a young man wearing a cap said.

"Rebecca." That was a curly haired woman beside him. I noticed she was pregnant and for a second I was stung with the memory of Christa.

"My name's Sarah," a young girl sitting on the floor near Travis spoke. I thought about what Tavia had said about there being two young girls at the community.

"Clementine," I suddenly gasped, my head turning back to Kenny. "Is she here?"

Kenny smiled just as the shutter opened. My eyes shot to it, where I saw the familiar girl. I was out of my seat in a second, my legs carrying me over to her. Her expression was cold, but as she registered who I was then it changed to something of complete relief and she ran forward until we were embraced in a hug.

"Clem I'm so sorry," I apologised. "We tried to find you... I should never have let you go off all alone."

"I thought I wouldn't find you again," Clementine whispered.

I tightened my arms around her. "It's okay now."

We let go of each other and I had to compose myself. I'd been reunited with two people that I had lost hope of finding, and I didn't think that anything could make me sad again.

We rejoined the circle of people, Clem standing by Travis and I.

Kenny let out a small chuckle. "If we weren't stuck out here in the cold, I'd be convinced this was a dream."

"Yeah," I giggled. "How long have you been here?"

"Got here just last night. Not willingly, of course."

"They tricked you?" I enquired.

"Tricked us?" Rebecca responded with a blunt laugh. "They forced us."

I raised an eyebrow, wondering why they would be forced here.

"Are we missin' something?" Travis questioned.

"Carver... he made us come here," Clementine elaborated. "When I lost you, I found a cabin and they let me stay. That was Rebecca and her group... but Carver was trying to get them so we had to leave, going north. I hoped you would go there too so we could find each other again."

"It's a long story why we didn't," I sighed. "And one I'd rather not tell."

Clementine nodded in understanding. "We reached a ski lodge and that's where Kenny and Sarita were, but Carver found us and brought us back here."

I frowned, realising that this 'community' really was just a prison.

"Okay, so how do we get out?" Travis quizzed.

Kenny smiled at the question. "Well here's the plan..."

* * *

**Well I hope you guys liked this chapter! Writing Marceline and Travis back into the game plot and especially reuniting them with Kenny and Clem was something I couldn't wait to do and I hope I've done it well enough. **

**Please don't forget to leave a review if you can, and I'll see you all in the next chapter!**


	14. Plans

I agreed to Kenny's plan somewhat reluctantly. It sounded like a death wish, but if it meant that we wouldn't have to stay at Howe's doing forced labour for a killer then I couldn't really complain.

I learned about a man named Luke who was helping the group escape from the community, and we had to help him to get a radio. The only way we could do that would be for Clem to steal one when nobody was looking. I wasn't happy about that one bit, but as I saw the young girl climb up the ladder on her own that went to the roof, I knew that she'd changed a lot in the past week.

Rebecca, the pregnant woman, had moved to sit on the mattress that was her bed because her back hurt. Sarah had also gone to sit in her 'bed', which was actually just a poorly constructed bunk bed without even a pillow. Mike stayed at the foot of the ladder to await Clementine while Jane, a short haired woman that only spoke when she realised we were going to escape, sat further back at the beds to watch the roof.

I sat nervously on the chair beside the fire, tapping my feet on the ground as I waited for Clementine to return. I moved my eyes from the roof to Travis, who was on the chair opposite me with his face balancing on his hand as he slept. I couldn't blame him for sleeping, I knew that we'd been through a lot. I felt a hand on my shoulder before someone sat on the seat next to me.

"Hey, Marce," Kenny greeted.

"Hey," I smiled back weakly. I thought about what I wanted to say, then met his eyes with sadness in my own. "I'm sorry, Kenny."

"For what?" He questioned.

"Back in Savannah," I explained. "You said we should plan for... for what we'd do if Lee didn't make it. I should have listened to you but instead I was snappy and horrible. I thought you'd died thinking I hated you."

"Aw, Marcey," he shook his head. "I never thought that. When those walkers appeared, I didn't think there was any chance of getting out alive. I didn't expect to survive, but I knew I wasn't ready to die, not when I had you kids to look out for. You were all my priority, I couldn't think you hated me."

I smiled more genuinely then, before I saw Travis move slightly from the corner of my sight. Out of instinct, I quickly observed him to see whether he was okay.

"So, you two..."

"What?" I asked, feeling my face blush.

"What's the situation there?"

I let out an awkward giggle. "Nothing. I mean... well, I don't know."

Kenny let out a little laugh. I narrowed my eyes and smiled slyly.

"So, Sarita, huh?"

Kenny chuckled more. "Yeah."

"She seems nice."

"She is," Kenny confirmed, his gaze moving to her as she lay in her own bed. "I don't know if I would've lasted this long without her."

I thought about that for a brief second. In a way, I knew that it was the same for Travis and I.

"What happened to you guys, then?" Kenny wondered.

I bit my lip. "After Christa... the three of us ran. One guy grabbed me and Travis tried to get him away from me but got his eye slashed with a knife. The only way we could escape was by water, so we let the stream carry us away. We found a dog then, but the poor thing was starved and bit Travis' hand when we tried to give it some food. That's when the walkers arrived and I told Clem to run. We must've gone the wrong way or something. Fuckin' mad cannibal guy tried to kill Travis next."

"Sounds like you've been through hell."

"We've seen worse," I shrugged. "After I killed the guy, we found a girl who was alone- or rather she found us. Walkers got her too. I thought we were safe. Then Tavia brought us here."

"Damn."

"I know."

We fell into silence and my eyes moved up to the rooftop again to expect Clementine.

"She's always been a brave girl," Kenny told me. "She'll be back soon."

"I know," I mumbled. "I just... I was so worried that I'd lost her. I guess I'm scared of it happening again."

Kenny nodded and then looked into the fire. I hadn't realised how much I missed Kenny. I could see in his face and how he spoke that he was practically a new person, memories of his old self fading away. I noticed that he only seemed like the Kenny I knew when he talked to one of us 'kids'.

"I'm gonna get into bed," Kenny groaned. "We don't wanna be getting on Troy's bad side."

"Yeah, okay."

Kenny ruffled my hair as he went to the bed that he shared with Sarita. After a few more minutes, a movement drew my attention and I identified Clementine descending the ladder before jumping into Mike's arms.

Clem smiled at me as she waved the radio in her hand.

"You little devil," Kenny proudly smiled from his bed.

"That's great, Clem," I grinned.

She crawled into her own bed and I realised I should probably do the same, so went to wake Travis up while Kenny continued his talking about the plan.

"Huh?" Travis asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Get to bed, sleepy," I smiled.

Travis stood and followed me towards the rest of the group, then rolled into one of the beds on the floor. I lifted myself up onto the one above it, sighing at how uncomfortable it was to sleep on.

Everyone fell into silence, some people asleep. As my eyes closed, I heard Kenny speak.

"I thought about Duck today- about his dumb little face. First things that come to mind are always the dumb little things he was doin'. Kid was always runnin' in circles, every damn place he went he'd just run, you couldn't stop him... Makes it harder to remember he was a good boy."

I processed what he was saying, my mind jumping back to the little boy that was always hyperactive. I missed his positivity that brightened the days at the motor inn. Poor Duck... Poor Kenny.

"Well, long day tomorrow. One long day."

I rolled over and drifted to sleep, dreaming about all those who I once knew and lost.

* * *

**I feel like this chapter is sort of short, but I'll make up for that with the next few. I just had this little calm chapter to take a break from all that drama! **

**Can I just say I loved that end bit with Kenny talking about Duck. I'm really glad they put that dialogue in, because obviously what he went through really altered his character and I'm glad they didn't just forget about Duck. Kenny is actually probably one of my favourite characters in the game, despite all his flaws.**

**Anyway, thank you for your reviews of the last chapter! They made me so happy to know you all liked how I wrote them being reunited. I look forward to seeing what you think of this little one, but prepare yourselves for the upcoming chapters because that's where things are going to get tense. See you next time! **


	15. Work

"Alright, we're all here," Kenny stated.

I stood staring at the radio on the table, wondering how we would go through with our plan.

"Someone's gotta get the radio out to Luke," Rebecca began. "What's the problem?"

"We should probably figure out who's doin' what before we-"

The shutters were lifted and all our heads turned to see Tavia stroll through. I glanced at the radio, though found it was now gone and hidden behind Kenny's back. My heart raced a little bit out of fear that we could be caught in our plan.

"Where's my dad?" Sarah wondered. I hadn't met her dad yet.

"He's where the rest of you are goin'- to work."

I didn't like the change I'd seen in Tavia. She seemed nice when we met her, but I realised now that it was her act to get more people working.

"Rebecca, Nick, Sarah, Jane, Travis," the woman listed. "If you gotta take a piss, do it now. The next break won't be for a while."

Travis and I looked at each other nervously upon the information that he would be separated. I learned from the incident in the woods with the cannibal that it was never a good sign to be apart.

"Troy'll be comin' out for the rest of you," Tavia informed. Great.

"Can't Travis stay with us?" I wondered. "Surely four people is enou-"

"Be quiet, orders are orders."

I narrowed my eyes at the woman. The selected group left to go to their own work, Travis rolling his eyes at me as he left my sight and the shutters closed.

"Can't be away from each other for a minute?" Kenny chuckled to lighten the situation.

I let out a small laugh in response. "Lets just get this done, the sooner we get out of here the better."

"Right," Kenny agreed.

"I can do it," Mike offered, though it sounded like he wasn't giving another option. "Where's the meetin'?"

"Wouldn't it be better if-"

Kenny cut me off from speaking. "Clementine should do it."

"What?" I gasped. "And if she gets caught?"

"No offense but c'mon, that's crazy- she's a kid!" Mike retaliated.

"Clem can't do it, I'm not letting her risk her life for the sake of a radio."

"Kenny's right," Clem suddenly spoke. "I should do it."

I pulled a face of confusion, actually feeling slightly betrayed that she would side to risk her safety.

"I'm not happy about this."

"Give me the radio," Mike instructed.

"No, give me-"

The shutters opened again. I really wasn't getting the chance to speak full sentences that day.

"All right little chickens," Troy practically shouted. "Let's get to peckin'."

What an unusual phrase.

"And don't think today is like yesterday- no way, no shenanigans! This rooster's gonna be surveillin' your ass every second of the day, you hear?"

Clementine looked up at me and I frowned.

"Got that?" Troy snapped, glaring at Clementine. "I'm afraid I need an answer, girl."

"Her name is Clementine," I growled.

"I heard you, okay?" Clem said before Troy could respond to me.

"Good!"

As Troy turned to guide us to where we'd be working, Clem glanced at me with a warning expression.

"Aw, you have your pockets all out!" Kenny exclaimed to Clementine. I noticed he was putting the radio in her jacket. "Gonna get your tags all snagged on somethin'."

I tried to resist the small laugh at Kenny's imagination.

We followed Troy through the hardware store and towards another exit door. I presumed we'd be working on the fences around the perimeter of the store.

"Hey, she's with me?" A female voice asked, suddenly appearing. I turned to see the ginger haired lady from the shutters with her arms folded.

"Aw, shit, I almost forgot."

"Yeah." She wasn't convinced.

Kenny and Clementine shared a worried expression.

"Well, take her then. I don't care."

I resisted the urge to punch Troy as he pushed Clementine forward with his gun, making her stumble.

"Wait, wait, what's goin' on?" Kenny queried.

"Just chores of a different sort. Come on, city mouse." The woman began to walk away, Clem looking at us in confusion of what to do.

"Can't Clem stay with us?" I spoke up, addressing the lady.

"It's nothing that'll hurt her," she replied in reassurance.

I brushed my hair back with my hands as Clementine had to follow the woman and we had to go with Troy.

I stayed walking as close as I could to Kenny, who now just looked irritated that the plan was being messed up.

* * *

Troy took us to a fence that needed patching up, where he stood leaning against the wall of a building with a bored face.

"I can't believe I have to stay here watchin' you guys fix a fuckin' fence."

"Feel free to help," I welcomed sarcastically, picking up a hammer and hitting a nail.

"Quit with the attitude, Marceline, you're gonna get punished," Mike warned.

"You ought to listen to him," Troy snarled.

I clamped my mouth together to avoid saying something else. Instead, I continued to work on the fence.

"Damn, we're all outta nails," Kenny sighed.

"There's some in that room back there," Troy said. "Hey, girl, you go get 'em. I trust you won't be stupid enough to try run away."

"Yeah, whatever," I sighed.

I put the hammer down on the floor and slipped through the door of the building. I had no idea where to look, so began searching in boxes. A small puddle of blood made me freeze on the spot. I moved around the boxes to get under cover in case I wasn't alone in the room.

I tried to see if there were any walkers that might have got inside, but the darkness didn't aid my vision at all.

I searched through some boxes when I decided there were no walkers, trying to find the nails hopelessly. I finally located them in the last cardboard box and picked them up to carry them out.

"Luke?"

My eyes widened.

"Luke? It's me, Clementine."

I let out a breath and stood up from behind the boxes.

"Marcey?" She asked. "Where's Luke?"

"I'm the only person here," I shrugged. "I have to get nails to fix up the fence outside."

"Luke should be here, I need to give him-"

"I swear to Christ you're gonna regret this!"

Troy barged in through the door and, before I could react, slapped Clementine across the face. The young girl fell back and I caught her in my arms before being filled with rage and aiming a fist at Troy's face, leaving him holding onto the side of it in pain. In response to my act of punching him, I felt the gun strike me across the face and knock me to the ground, making me drop the box of nails where it smashed onto the ground and spilled everywhere.

"Marceline!"

The panic in Clementine's voice made me worry about how much damage my face had taken.

There were more footsteps heard before raised voices. Mike and Kenny were here now, shouting at Troy for hitting us. I stood up and noticed the blood on my hands from both my face and fingers where I'd landed on the nails, but I knew I'd not been hit anywhere that would cause much damage. I could still see and my nose worked fine, and as far as I was aware my teeth remained in tact.

"Let's go, now!" Troy commanded. "You wait until Carver hears about this."

Troy had his gun aimed at me, I then realised, which was what made Kenny and Mike stop shouting.

We had to get out of here soon- before one of us would be killed.

* * *

**Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. **

**A little question to anyone who's been publishing stories recently: I noticed that the view count for this fic hasn't gone up since before I posted the last chapter, yet I know you guys have been reading this because I had reviews on that chapter. Anyone having a similar problem? **

**Anyway, I love the bit of season 2 at Carver's camp, so I hope I've written this good enough for you! See you next time. :) **


	16. Injuries

The shutter leading to our outdoor space was up when we approached, and immediately I detected that something else was going on. I stepped closer to Clementine, my arm lingering near hers so I could move her quickly if something was to go wrong. I'd risk my own safety for her anytime.

We paused in the doorway, and I noticed two new people that I didn't recognise. One man looked somewhat similar to Sarah, so I presumed that it was her father. The other man sat on the floor, wounded.

"Get over there!" Troy urged.

We moved forward, and the man I guessed was Carver continued his own speech to the others. Travis caught my eye. He narrowed his own before visibly becoming more tense as he spotted my cut face. I shook my head subtly.

"And how is it that we're repaid for our trust?" Carver questioned the group. "With treachery, with deceit, with theft!"

"Luke," Clementine mumbled, her eyes to the man on the floor.

Busted. The plan was out then. Fuck.

Carver then held up a radio in his hand. My heart raced. "Whatever you were planning is over. It's done. You can't just run from your problems."

I resisted the desire to tell him that he was the problem and knew it. I got the impression from how he spoke and the submissive attitudes of the group that Carver was not a man to stand up to.

"You can't just up and leave when it gets tough, cos there's nowhere to go where it ain't. Tough is all we got now; get that through your fuckin' skulls."

The man walked nearer to us, forcing eye contact with us all. When he met my eyes, seeming confused as I was unfamiliar, I returned the stare with cold, stern daggers. He kept his eyes on me for longer than I'd liked, but I would not look away. I would not stand down to this man.

"You got a problem with that?" He demanded.

"I got a problem with you," I spat.

Carver's mouth curled up into a snarl and I felt his hand strike me across the face, adding to the existing injury. Nobody moved to stop the man, but I heard a gasp from Clem and a small squeak from Sarah. I turned my face back to the man, ready to glare again but he had turned his back on me.

"Luke here, he can't help you now. You've gotta help yourselves. You gotta help me find the strength to forgive you," Carver stated. "Now you can start by telling me where the other one is. I'm gonna count to three. If that radio ain't in my hand by then, we'll have to make things more difficult."

I glanced down to Clementine who looked nervous and unsure. If I was stood on the other side of her, I would have taken the radio myself.

"One..."

I tried to stay calm but I was so worried. I had no idea what horrors this man would do, and I doubted that he'd hold back from hurting Clementine.

"Two..."

Clem let out a noise like she was about to speak and my eyes widened, but suddenly Kenny's hand held the radio high and he walked forward to return it.

"It's right here," Kenny informed. "I got it."

Carver held a hand out expectantly and Kenny began to walk forward. Sarita stepped out in worry, but he continued to go after telling her it was alright.

"Sorry about that, not sure what I was thinkin'," Kenny apologised to Carver.

The radio was dropped into Carver's hand and the man then spoke in a monotonous, eerie voice. "Three."

There was a silence temporarily. Kenny and Carver glared at each other, and I could see my friend shake his head.

"Heh. Fucker."

Before Kenny could defend himself, Carver brought the radio down onto his face with a force I didn't expect, knocking him to the ground.

"No!" Sarita screamed.

Kenny was hit again and I stared in shock, my body frozen.

"Stop him! Somebody stop him!" Sarita moved forward, but then the man that stood with Luke grabbed the woman to prevent her intervening, which I thought was the most cowardly thing I'd witnessed in the past few months.

Sarita was crying out for someone to help Kenny, the others pleading for Carver to stop yet still not going anywhere. They knew this man... they knew what he was capable of. That didn't stop me.

"Stop it!" I yelled, my legs carrying my forward before I could even think of what I was doing.

I saw Troy move to hit me down, but I ducked and he fell himself. I ran at Carver and he noticed, then dropped Kenny to the floor and a fist hit me straight in the face. That didn't go to plan.

There were more footsteps around as everyone scattered.

"Don't you fuckin' touch her!" Travis roared as he ran to me.

Carver hit me again, knocking my hands from my bleeding face so I also fell. From my watery eyes I realised Clementine was also approaching, but Troy and stood at this moment and pushed her down. I saw Travis fighting to get past Tavia and her gun, the others shouting for Carver to stop as his foot kicked me in the side and made me curl up to prevent further damage.

"Bill!" A new voice called out. "That's enough, Bill, please!"

Before Carver's foot could collide with my body again, he paused to look up at the speaker.

"Bill, there's a breach."

"Alright, everyone come with me," Carver suddenly instructed, stepping away from me. "Bonnie, you stick around; make sure these folks don't get into any more trouble."

I let out a small whimper when he walked away. My mind assessed my injuries as well as they could. Broken nose I guessed from the blood, bruised side from the kicks, probably a scratch or two on my face from the landing. All in all, not a very good state to be in.

"No supper for y'all tonight. Maybe an empty stomach will give you some perspective, then we'll try this again tomorrow!"

"Marcey, are you alright?" Travis panicked, rushing to my side.

"Yeah," I whispered, trying to move. "I'm ok. Kenny..."

My gaze went straight to the man as I sat up. He lay on the floor, blood everywhere, while Sarita and Sarah's dad sat with him. Clementine was sitting up now and the ginger haired woman from earlier was checking on her. I now had a name to the lady- Bonnie. I had to thank her for stopping Carver before things got worse.

"Do your best with him, Carlos," Bonnie said. Carlos was Sarah's dad, then. "You need to get him able to move, cos we're leavin' tonight."

Everyone exchanged surprised faces.

"We're leavin' tonight."

* * *

Clementine went to rest for a while since she had hit her head hard on the floor when Troy pushed her. I sat with Travis leaning against a wall nearby, my eyes watching her carefully.

My bleeding had stopped but I was still in a great deal of pain. Travis had an arm protectively placed around my shoulders, and I could practically feel the anger radiating from him. I dreaded thinking what he would do to Carver next time he saw him.

I noticed Luke, the man who was previously our hope of escaping, walk towards Travis and I with a slightly cautious expression. He sat down on the floor near us after greeting us quickly.

"My name's Luke," he introduced.

"Travis," my friend responded. "This is Marceline."

Luke nodded and then his eyes quickly examined my face. "Carver hit you pretty bad, huh."

"Yeah," I shrugged, though winced in pain almost immediately.

"I'll ask Carlos to take a look at you once he's finished with Kenny. He's a doctor so I trust that he'll help ya as much as he can."

"Thanks," I replied with a small smile.

He smiled then stood to walk away, but I suddenly got another thought.

"Luke?" I asked. He turned his head and lifted an eyebrow. "I, uh... thanks for taking care of Clementine."

He smiled once more and turned away. "No problem."

I leaned into Travis' arms more and shut my eyes. I wanted to get out of this place as soon as I could.

* * *

**So the view count is working again! Yay. **

**Thought I'd upload this chapter early, just because I love you guys for reading this and the support you give me by reviewing. **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review if you can and let me know what you think will happen! See you next time x**


	17. Action

I was woken up by a light shaking on my arm, and when I opened my eyes I found myself looking at Kenny, wounded with a bandage on his face, but in a much better condition than he could have been if I hadn't intervened.

"Kenny!" I grinned, moving to hug him then remembering the pain I was in and gasping.

"What's wrong?" He asked, worried.

"Carver," I sighed. "Kicked me when I tried to stop him hitting you."

Kenny frowned. "You didn't need to do that, Marcey."

"I know," I said. "But you're like family to me, Kenny. I couldn't watch him do that to you."

Kenny smiled softly. "We're gettin' out of here tonight, Marce. Clem is gonna go start the PA system in a minute and then we're runnin'."

I bit my lip. How was I meant to escape when I was in so much pain? I nodded my head anyway, and the man then walked away to the group that sat around the fire.

Travis was over with them too, but I noticed how his eyes lingered on me as if confirming that I was okay. Carlos, the doctor, then realised I was awake and approached me to check my injuries.

"Hello, Marceline. I'm going to see if there's any bad damage to you, is that okay?"

I nodded, and the doctor crouched by me. He gently turned my head and looked at my nose, which had dry blood around it.

"I don't think this is broken," he stated. "How much can you move?"

Carlos had to help me to my feet and I managed it, however the water in my eyes didn't go unseen by him.

"You're very lucky, these injuries could have been much worse. I'll go update the others."

The doctor left me standing alone while I observed the group. He was talking to them, and suddenly all eyes turned to me for a brief second before returning to the speaker. After a minute of me avoiding eye contact, Clementine came over to me and looked up with a somewhat frightened face.

"What's wrong, Clem?" I asked.

She gazed down to the floor while she spoke. "I'm scared this plan will go wrong..."

"What do you mean by 'wrong'?"

Clem met my eyes again with a sad frown settled on her face. "What if we don't all get out? Carlos said you're in a lot of pain."

"I'm gonna get out of this place, Clementine, if it's the last thing I do. But I'm not leaving without you, so if something happens then don't panic because I promise I'll be with you."

Seeming reassured by my words, the young girl hugged me, though was careful of my covered bruises.

"I need to go now," she explained, "to use the PA system, then Bonnie is gonna let us out."

"Sounds like a plan," I smiled.

Clementine nodded and then went to walk away to do her job.

"Be careful, Clementine."

"I will."

Clementine held onto the rope that would get her to the ladder while the group of us stood below. Rebecca told her the instructions of where to go and what to do, then Clem repeated it. I was so frightened for how this would turn out while I saw the young girl jump for the ladder. What if Carver caught her? If he even put a finger on her then it would be the last thing he'd ever do, I'd make sure of it.

"Clem, make sure you bring Alvin," Rebecca instructed before the little girl vanished over the roof.

Everyone was now at a loss for what to do.

"I guess now we just wait," Luke suggested, "and get ready to move."

As the others moved away and Travis went with Kenny, I realised there was still someone else by my side.

"She's a brave girl."

I turned my head and looked at the woman. "Yeah."

"She's helped our group a lot, you know?" Rebecca smiled. "I hope she can bring Alvin back to me."

I tilted my head in curiosity. "Who's Alvin?"

Rebecca put a hand on her stomach and smiled.

"Oh," I said, also smiling. "When do you think the baby will arrive?"

"Any day now," she laughed, though it was a little uncertain.

"Are you okay?"

Rebecca nodded, but her face told me otherwise.

"You can talk to me, Rebecca. I know we've not known each other long, but I don't think there's much good in keeping secrets during the apocalypse."

Rebecca sighed and began to speak. "I'm just scared about this baby growin' up in this world... And I'm scared he'll not even know who his dad is. Carver is a cruel man."

I looked away and back to the roof. "He won't have a chance to be cruel again after today, not to us. And I guess we're a group now, you're not gonna have to care for that baby by yourself."

Rebecca half-smiled. "Thanks, Marceline."

Just as I returned that smile, the voice of the PA system began to speak out loud. Everyone ran to the shutters just as they began to open by Bonnie. I could feel the pain in my kicked muscles as I ran, but Travis was by my side in an instant and ready to help me if I needed it.

We got into the store room to meet Clementine, but a surprise waited for us there. Carver.

"Did I not warn you all enough?" He asked, clicking his gun. "Get your hands up. Now!"

We all did as told, weaponless and hopeless against the gun Carver had in his control. It hurt to put my arms up, but I had to do it because I needed to get out of Howe's alive.

"Bonnie... I can't believe that after everything we did for you here, you would help them to escape. And Rebecca," he looked each person in the eye coldly as he addressed them, "are you trying to keep the baby from me?"

Rebecca shook her head slowly.

"Hm," he growled. His eyes moved and he glared at me. "We offered you to join us. We gave you a bed, food, work to do. Life could be how it used to be here."

"Life here is nothing how society used to be," I spat. "Don't pretend that you're looking out for all of us. The only person you care about is yourself."

I expected him to become enraged by my confrontation, though now he just sighed heavily and moved the direction of the gun to face me.

"You wanna disrespect me, fine. You wanna throw away the life I'm tryna build for us all, then fuckin' fine! You wanna run off with this dogshit group-"

"Shut up," I snarled.

"I will put a bullet in you," he continued. "And then-"

Before the man could finish what he was saying, a weight landed on him that made him stumble before Kenny threw a punch across his face.

"Clem!" I grinned.

While Carver was taken by surprise, Luke snatched the gun and pointed it at him. "Get back!"

"Come on, Luke, this ain't none of your business," Carver said.

Rebecca suddenly interrupted any further conversation. "Clem where... why isn't Alvin with you? Where is he?"

The young girl looked away from Rebecca with a guilty expression, then to Travis who was by her side. I put a hand on Rebecca's arm to comfort her at the discovery. Her face changed from tough to broken in an instant.

Luke spoke up next. "Rebecca... oh God, I am so sor-"

"Kill him."

My eyes landed on Carver, who now stood with his hands up yet still thought he had the power to talk over us.

"Rebecca, Rebecca sweetie, my god. How did we get here, you and me?" He looked around to the rest of us. "This is just a bit of a custody battle we've got goin' on here."

"Shoot him."

"Just shoot him," Clementine decided.

"What?!" Luke gasped.

There was a gunshot, a groan from Carver and a very angry Kenny.

We were all in silence until Kenny stepped across to a table behind Carver, who now lay on the ground. The clanging sound of a metal bar being picked up made me begin to wonder how far Kenny was going to take his revenge on the man.

"Go on and wait outside."

Some of the others began to do as Kenny asked, though Carlos and Sarita tried to prevent what the man wanted to do.

"Kenny," I muttered. "Maybe we could just-"

"Go on. You don't need to see this."

That wasn't Kenny anymore. His voice was cold and stern, his entire person suddenly different. I remembered the man that died inside near Savannah upon finding his wife dead and his child in a similar state. I remembered the man that got angry and I argued with in the attic of the house. I remembered the man that gave me an apologetic glance as he went to rescue the very boy he had hated, the same one he offered his final bullet to in a mercy killing. This was not the same Kenny.

But in the same argument, I was not the same Marceline, Clementine had changed and so had Travis. We couldn't be compared to the people we used to be. The apocalypse demanded change and adaptation to survive, and that was what we did.

"There ain't one part of that son of a bitch that I don't hate, but that don't make this right," Luke declared.

"I have to agree with Luke on this," I voted. "Torture makes us as low as he is. I thought we were just going to stop him following us... I'm out of here, c'mon Clem."

"Kenny," Clementine tried, "we need to leave."

The man shook his head slowly.

The group began to separate away, and I walked with Clementine to everybody else before stopping and turning back.

"Travis?"

He didn't look at me as he answered. "I'll be with you in a minute."

"You don't have to do anything else to him now," I told my friend as I walked back and placed a hand on his arm. "Please let's just go."

"Look at you," Carver chuckled. "You act all brave until you have to see a man die."

I glared at him. Carver was a monster; he was cruel and sick, power hungry and evil. I wanted us to all be free from him, but was this right? I had killed people before... I remembered it every night when I tried to sleep. Those people all attacked us and I didn't think twice about ending their lives, and I guessed that's how the others were seeing it now. Carver hurt us, and now they were going to end him.

I walked back past Travis, making a final comment as I exited. "Do what you have to do."

* * *

**Did this outcome surprise anyone? Did you expect Travis to stay and Marceline to go? Let me know in the reviews what you thought, I love to see what you guys expected! **


	18. Escape

We left the building now to be exposed to the sight of a dozen walkers that lingered around the land. I prayed that we would get past them. The sound of a metal bar hitting a person made me flinch.

"That's not the Kenny I know in there," Sarita stated, her voice sounding distraught and scared. "I wish... I thought I could save him."

I looked at her sadly, wondering then what the man had been like in the time we had lost one another.

"You can't save everyone," I told her, Travis' words echoing in my head.

Kenny, Rebecca and Travis came back to us, and Sarita tried to speak but Kenny refused.

"No, no. I'm-I'm- I'm alright. Come on, we got enough to worry about."

Travis and I stared at each other for a long second before he put his arms around me in a hug. I tried to avoid the fresh blood on his clothing.

"Man," Nick panicked. "We're never gonna make it through this."

"You kiddin' me?" Luke asked him. "If Clem can handle it, you can."

I thought it was a bit of an unfair comparison, and Clementine's raised eyebrow showed me that she thought so too.

Some walkers had spotted us nearby, and Travis now carried the metal bar used to kill Carver so hit one over the head. Luke killed another with his own weapon, but I didn't expect to see Clementine do the same with an axe. Everything was different now.

"You guys better hurry up and get to smearing if you wanna live," Jane said as she spread walker guts upon her clothes.

My nose wrinkled at the disgusting smell that almost made me sick. Clementine had now began to cut open the walker that she had defeated.

"Or you can die here," Jane continued. "Doesn't matter to me. Do it quick."

"Ugh!" Sarah complained, pulling a disgusted face.

"This is so gross," I muttered. "I hope we don't have to do this again."

"Me too," Sarah agreed.

Clem quickly started to put the blood on her clothes while Sarah watched in horror.

I moved to the other walker and crouched down at the body.

"Marce, we need to hurry," Travis urged, having just covered himself in the guts.

I plunged my hands into the stomach and could have screamed at how gross it was. Never again did I want to witness a walker being cut open to put its guts on my clothes.

"We ain't got all day here, everybody ready?" Kenny rushed. "They're almost on us."

"What in the actual fuck is goin' on here?!"

I spun at the sound of a new voice, immediately seeing Troy with his gun heading towards us.

"What is this sick shit? Someone say somethin' before I start- hey, hey, hey, hey!"

I noticed Luke trying to pick up a gun.

Jane stood, speaking calmly. "Troy, we talked about this."

As she walked closer to him, he backed up, now looking shy and guilty. I raised an eyebrow and turned to Travis.

I felt my body freeze as the walker groans got closer and soon were passing us, now heading to Troy. A gunshut almost made me jump, and then I could hear the shouts of shock and the walker groans got louder as they now targetted their prey.

"Come on," Jane said as she walked back to us. "Don't make any noise, got it? They might hear something they don't like. And for fuck's sake, walk! Act like you belong and you will belong."

We began to go through the crowd of walkers. My eyes darted between the point of freedom, various walkers, Clementine, Kenny, Travis, Rebecca, Sarah...

"It's okay," Travis reassured as he was by my side.

"Clem's all the way ahead," I worried, seeing that we'd become slightly separated and she was now with Carlos and Sarah. I couldn't lose her again.

"She'll be fine."

Travis' hand held onto mine and we continued to step lightly past the monsters, my heart racing.

"Dad!"

Now I saw walkers spring upon Carlos, who was clutching his neck. His bleeding neck. This plan wasn't going to work- the walkers knew we were human!

They swarmed around Sarah and Clementine, but before I could run I felt Travis grab my arm and hold me back. At this point, Sarah was crying frantically in the trauma of seeing her father be eaten alive.

Bonnie began firing her gun and calling to Sarah for her to calm down. We had all ended up apart at the worst possible time.

I saw Clementine fall to the floor, I saw Sarita get grabbed by walkers, I saw Sarah dart away into the forest. Then Clementine chopped Sarita's arm off.

Travis and I were at a loss of what to do. The walkers found who was human because of the screaming, but we were still safe for now. I couldn't leave them in that situation, but I had no weapon anymore and would be entirely useless.

As Clementine was blocked from my view, I scanned my eyes for anyone else of the group. Luke, Nick and Rebecca were together, until suddenly the two men ran away and left the pregnant woman alone and terrified.

"We need to get to Rebecca," I whispered.

Travis nodded and we walked slowly, dodging in between walkers. With the slow pace we were moving at, Rebecca was getting further away and more blocked by monsters, but I was determined not to leave her alone. I knew Clementine was with Kenny now and that was better than her being by herself.

Quicker than I could blink, a walker grabbed onto my shoulder and pulled me backwards. In my fall, I narrowly missed its teeth that would have ended my life. Travis spun, hitting the walker over the head and then pushing it off me before helping me back to my feet. Thankfully, it hadn't drawn the attention of any others but it made the pain I felt even worse.

When we got back to Rebecca, I was relieved to find Clementine with her.

"I... I can't do this alone," I heard Rebecca cry.

"You're not alone," I spoke.

Clementine and Rebecca looked up to Travis and I, both smiling.

"We can get out if we stick together," she paused as her face looked tense.

"Rebecca?" I panicked.

"I'm glad you're here," she told us all.

"I'll stick with you," Clementine told her.

"Thank you."

I looked at the walkers that were still going towards the store, which meant some were still heading in our direction. "We need to get back to the others out past those trees."

"Maybe they're thinning out somewhere. Do you see any openings?" Rebecca questioned.

Clementine moved to look for an opening, then started shuffling ahead. The three of us followed but a walker blocked her path and we tried to go back to where we were safe.

In an instant, Clementine let out a little cry in fright. I spun to see what it was, finding Jane staring at her with irritation on her face.

"Jane," I began. "It's good you-"

"Stop," she whispered. "Relax. You need to walk slowly, you'll be fine."

Rebecca had panic all over her face and I looked at her with a small smile.

"We can do this, Rebecca. Come on."

Rebecca nodded but I could sense her fear as the five of us began to walk. Jane turned around slowly to us.

"We can't clump together like this, it's better if we spread out."

"I'll stay with Rebecca," I offered. "Travis and Clem, you can go ahead."

Clementine looked up at me with a frightened face. "Be careful."

"You too," I smiled.

Travis and Clem moved away in a different direction to Jane, but Rebecca wouldn't move.

"Come on, Rebecca."

"I can't do this."

"Please," I begged. "We need to get out of here now."

Rebecca was still frozen on the spot, her face full of anxiety. Her breathing was heavy and I began to wonder what I would have to do if she didn't hurry up soon.

"We'll have to push through that cluster of walkers," a voice suddenly said, surprising me.

I turned to see Jane stood by us again, though not looking very impressed.

"There's so many," Rebecca commented with a shaking voice.

"We'll make a cow catcher," Jane responded like it was obvious.

I raised an eyebrow while the woman observed some walkers then pointed one out.

"I'm gonna get on the far side of her. I need you to get her attention."

Before I could say any more, Jane moved away and I was left staring at the walker.

I didn't know what to do, so scanned the floor around me. I picked up a small stone and aimed it at the walker's head before throwing it, drawing its attention to Rebecca and I.

As the walker approached with a sickly groan, Jane ran behind it, slicing off its jaw in a swift motion.

"Not gonna bite anyone now, are ya?" Jane taunted it.

"What now?" I asked.

"Follow me," she said, holding the walker up in front of her. "Stay close; if you fall behind I can't come back for you."

Rebecca went before me and I stayed at the back of our line. The jawless walker now cleared the path for us of other walkers, though I felt like their hands were reaching out for me every few seconds. As we reached the trees, Jane threw the walker down and killed it. Travis and Clementine waited there for us. I glanced back to the walkers and the people trying to defend the hardware store. I tried to spot any more of the group, but found nobody.

"Let's get out of here," Travis commanded. "No need to stay longer than we have."

"Yeah," I muttered. "Let's go."


	19. Anger

**I would just like to apologise for the late update here. I just moved and had no Wi-Fi for a few days so couldn't upload and I'm very sorry. University has just started meaning occasionally my uploads may slip a day, but don't worry, there will still always be weekly updates until the story ends. I'd also recommend that anyone who is a guest reader to make an account so you can follow the story, and that way if I do change upload days you'll still be notified when I do upload. **

**I'd also like to thank you guys again for your reviews, they honestly make me so happy and I'm really thankful for your support. **

**Without any more of my rambling, here is the chapter and I hope you enjoy it! **

We travelled into the next morning to reach the location that was the meet up point. I could hear nothing but the sound of our own footsteps, along with Rebecca's heavy breathing and occasional soft cries. The pain that she was in made me ignore my own since it was nothing in comparison. I guessed her baby would be here a lot sooner than she'd expected.

Travis stuck to my side while we walked, Clementine on the other. Jane led the group confidently, forgetting that the rest of us were with her it seemed. Clementine glanced at Rebecca and then dropped back to walk with her, which I didn't mind because she knew what she was doing.

There was a tension I couldn't ignore between Travis and I. Everyone was pretty tense right now with the stress of losing the group, but this had been going on since we cleared Howe's and it was different.

I searched his face for a brief second while we walked and his gaze was down to the floor. He looked tired but he also looked like he was hiding something.

I nudged his arm lightly and he snapped from his daydream. "What's botherin' you?"

Travis shrugged.

"C'mon, it's not nothing."

He bit his lip and looked into my eyes, then diverted to staring ahead of us. "It's just that, back there, we were all so vulnerable walking through the crowd like that, and when the walker grabbed you... I thought you had been bitten."

"But I'm fine," I assured him.

"Yeah, but you might not be so lucky next time."

I thought about that. The cold truth made me shiver. If I had have been bitten, what would have happened? Would he have left me there? Tried to defend me? Killed me?

"Travis," I mumbled. "What if... What happens if I am?"

An expression of alarm appeared on his face in an instant and he stopped walking, grabbing my wrists in his hands.

"Marcey?" He panicked. "What-"

"I'm not!" I rushed. "It was just a... What if?"

Seeming slightly more at ease, he released my wrists without catching the others' attention.

"If you were bitten?" He began as we continued walking. "You want to know what I'd do."

"Yeah," I sighed. "I mean, Clem had to shoot Lee..."

The memories of the little girl retelling her experience to me flashed into my mind, making my heart sink. I wished Lee was still around.

"If you were bitten then I'd deal with it as necessary," Travis decided. "If I could save you then-"

"Because we all know how well amputation works when you're bit."

"We were just too late for Lee," Travis spoke calmly. I could see it was upsetting for him too. "It wouldn't happen with you. I'm always with you, Marcey, I couldn't even let something happen to you in the first place without putting myself in the line of fire instead."

I had nothing to say in response. Instead, I took his hand and held onto it. Suddenly there was a groan in pain, and I turned to see Rebecca with her hands placed on her stomach and a look of distress on her face.

"Rebecca?" I worried.

"I have to stop," she stated. "I'm sorry, I don't want to slow us down. Can I just have a minute?"

"Uh, yeah," Jane agreed, though sounded reluctant. "Take a minute."

Rebecca thanked her, then began to let out little sobs. There was nothing I could do to help her but it was so bothering not being able to do anything.

"Alvin was supposed to be here for this."

Jane approached the topic carefully. "Is Alvin..."

"He's dead, that's what he is. Thanks to that fucking madman back there."

I gave an apologetic look to Jane. I wondered what Rebecca was like before all of this apocalypse thing and before she was having a baby.

"Rebecca?" Clementine asked. "Are you going to be okay?"

I admired how the young girl checked on everyone. While the woman didn't answer, Jane narrowed her eyes.

"What are you going to do with it?"

My eyes and Rebecca's widened in surprise at the question.

"What do you mean by that?" Rebecca demanded.

Upon realising her mistake, Jane tried to cover for herself, but the pregnant lady was having none of that.

"You won't be able to raise a baby by yourself," Jane argued.

"People have done that for decades!" I said angrily.

"I turned out okay," Travis' voice surprised me. I remembered him telling me about his life before zombies attacked, but he sounded so empty when he mentioned it now. "I mean, look at me. I'm still here."

"You weren't raised in an apocalypse," Jane frowned.

I decided to interrupt before Travis got upset or angry. "Rebecca doesn't have to raise the baby alone. We're all a group now, we all have responsibility."

Rebecca gave me a thankful smile.

"I just mean that sometimes you can't protect everyone you want to," Jane sighed.

"This has been going on for years now," I responded. "We know what's at risk. But having the people there worth defending is enough to retain some humanity, right?"

"Just because you're some angry loner who doesn't care about anyone but herself, doesn't mean you know better than me," Rebecca snapped to Jane.

"Hey!" The young woman looked offended now, and I began to wish this discussion hadn't started while we were raising our voices. "I've seen it before. Back when this started, me and my sister we were-"

"What! She died?!"

I moved to take a step forward. We had hit a really bad topic now.

"Alright, break it up," Travis instructed, separating the women with his arm. "That's enough."

Jane turned and walked ahead.

"Jane!" Clementine called out to her.

I bit my lip and caught up with Jane, leaving the other three behind us.

"She doesn't mean it, I'm sure," I tried.

"I don't want to talk about it now," Jane shook her head.

"Okay," I didn't know what to do. "But I'm here if you need to talk, okay?"

"Yeah, thanks," she smiled slightly.

As my eyes moved to the land in our path, I identified Bonnie and Mike talking together. Thank God, we weren't the only ones that got out alive.

The group and I walked to Mike and Bonnie, who looked equally as relieved to find other survivors.

"It had been so long," Bonnie greeted. "We were startin' to worry no-one else would make it."

"Well, we're here now," I smiled half-heartedly. "Where's Kenny?

Mike looked back over his shoulder, and then I saw the man sat on a small wall, his face showing the sadness I remembered back from the days in Savannah.

"I tried to talk to Kenny," Mike explained. "And he flipped out on me, started yellin'. Scary shit."

Clementine spoke up. "I should go talk to him. This is my fault."

"Hey, you did what you thought was right."

"Jane's right," Travis agreed. "What else could you have done?"

Clementine looked to the floor with a frown. It bothered me so much that she even had to be in the situation she was. I needed to be there for her more.

The little girl made her way over to Kenny while the rest of us went near a building. I kept my eyes focused on Kenny, since he was always argumentative and I didn't want to see him be any threat to Clem. I could see them talking, and it was stressing me out while I wondered what was being said.

I saw Clementine look more distressed and lost, meanwhile Kenny was talking with speed. It didn't look good.

"He has a gun," Mike calmly informed.

"You say this now?" I snapped, slowly edging forward to get closer to Clementine and Kenny.

Travis grabbed my hand. "Don't-"

"Get off," I pulled my arm away and walked forward, just as Kenny began to shout.

"You think because you're a little girl you can just get people killed and no-one will care? Because you're sorry it'll all magically go away?"

"Kenny," I warned, stepping beside Clementine and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"No, she needs to hear this," he growled. "That's not how it works!"

"Kenny, stop acting like this!" I shouted. "You're being unreasonable. I know you're upset, but you can't take your anger out on her."

Kenny glared at me and I returned the look.

"Leave me the fuck-"

"We're fucking going," I spat before he could finish his sentence. "You stay here and feel sorry for yourself for as long as you need, but we're not waiting forever."

Kenny's eyes moved away and I urged Clementine to walk away with me. My heart raced and I could feel the heat in my face from my anger.

"I need a minute," I mumbled to the girl, and she nodded.

I stayed away from the group and from Kenny while Clem went to speak with them. Leaning against the wall of a building, I lowered myself to the ground and rested my head on my raised knees.

How did we get in this state? God, I was so lost. Kenny was losing his mind, Rebecca was ready to have her baby, Clementine was full of guilt, Mike and Bonnie were ready to leave, Jane was on edge, Luke along with Sarah and Nick were missing... Our group was a mess.

"Jane and Clem want to go look for the others," a voice suddenly informed, surprising me.

"Oh?" I looked up to Travis.

"I was thinking of going with them, you know, for Clem," he seemed unsure when he spoke, like he was suspicious or hiding something.

"Okay," I said. "Let's go then."

Travis put a hand out, preventing me from standing. "No, you stay. Keep an eye on Kenny."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Travis, are you with us here or not?" Jane called.

"I'll be back soon, I promise."

I watched as my friends disappeared away into the woods. It suddenly played on my mind that I didn't apologise for being so rude to him when I was concerned about Clem before. Surely he understood.

I waited patiently for them to return, wondering whether Kenny would be calm enough to come with us when we left... I didn't want to lose him again.


	20. Heart

I stood leaning against a wall beside Mike. My foot tapped on the ground anxiously. They'd been gone for too long, and I was terrified something had happened to them. My mind started to race with realisation that I could lose both Travis and Clementine. How on earth could I deal with that loss?

The only person I knew best was Kenny, and I knew that he was losing himself. I was losing him.

My eyes drifted to the sky. I prayed that Clementine and Travis would return back safe and with Sarah. That poor girl had witnessed her own father die in front of her, she needed support now more than ever.

Movement caught my eyes and I immediately identified people exiting the woods.

"Holy shit," I grinned, running forward.

I flung my arms around Clementine and then hugged Travis, relief flooding my body as the both of them seemed unharmed and well.

"You're both okay, right? Everyone is safe?"

"Not exactly everyone," Travis sighed, glancing at Luke who frowned in sadness.

Oh, Nick hadn't come back.

We walked back to the rest of the group, and Sarah went straight to Rebecca. I guessed she'd been the closest thing to a mother figure Sarah had within that group.

I crouched beside Clementine and gave her a small, forced smile. She looked so broken.

"Things are gonna get better from now on, Clem," I comforted her.

The young girl took me by surprise when she hugged me, her face buried into my shoulder.

"I hope you're right," she mumbled.

Luke separated Rebecca from the rest of us to break the news of Nick while Bonnie asked to speak with Clem. I reluctantly parted from her, now being left alone with Travis since Mike had gone to talk with Jane.

"I'm glad you're okay," I said to him.

"Yeah," he responded. "Told you I'd come back."

I smiled slightly, then glanced over at Jane. "She seemed eager for you to go with her and Clem."

Travis drew his eyebrows together and narrowed his eyes. "She said we could use more eyes and strength trying to find the others. Hell, if I wasn't there then I think less people would've made it out alive."

I nodded my head and said no more.

"Alright," Travis sighed. "What's bothering you?"

"The apocalypse, maybe?" I replied sarcastically. "We're not particularly in the best situation right now. Kenny's isolating himself, Rebecca's ready to give birth, Nick's gone, Sarah's distraught..."

Travis bit his lip, considering what I'd said.

"I'm scared that we've not made a good decision here."

Travis looked directly into my eyes, tilting his head slightly. "What decision?"

"This," I shrugged, gesturing to the group of people. "We're right back to how we were, a whole lot of us. This isn't something that's going to last, Trav. We've seen it happen and... And I don't think I can take that again. Look at these people. Already people are dead and suffering... they'd probably be better without us."

Travis' mouth dropped as he stared back at me, an expression of disbelief written on his face. "People need to stick together, Marcey, or else we'll have even less numbers. I couldn't live with myself knowing I let one of these people die by just leaving them. I feel guilty enough that I couldn't save Christa, that I couldn't save Omid... Fuck, I couldn't even save Ben or Lee."

"None of that's your fault," I muttered. I didn't realise he was felt so much guilt. He'd always been the one telling me not to feel that way, so I'd never even considered he was similar. "We can't save everyone, right?"

Travis looked away into the distance and we said no more for minutes. That was until Rebecca's baby decided it was time to be born...

I noticed the woman stand still and then hold onto her stomach, her face beginning to look panicked as she frantically moved her head to look for someone.

Making eye-contact with her, I realised what was happening and shot over, Travis close behind and getting the others.

"Rebecca is it time?" I asked, not fully sure what to say or do.

"Feels like it," she worried. "I can't give birth here in the open, what am I going to do?"

As the group gathered around, Clementine and Kenny exited a tent and rushed over.

"What's going on?" Clem panicked, full of alarm.

"Rebecca is going to have her baby," Travis told her. "Anyone know anything about child birth?"

Everyone pulled a blank face.

"Great."

I turned to Kenny, who stood simply looking distracted.

"Kenny," I tried. "We need you. You've done this before, right?"

The aged man said nothing for a couple of seconds, and I growled in frustration that he would not cooperate under the circumstances.

"Alright, give me a second."

If nobody else knew what to do and Kenny was taking his time with deciding, I knew I had to figure this out immediately.

"Ok, we need to get somewhere for this baby to be born- somewhere safe."

Luke shook his head. "No way can Rebecca travel like this."

"He's right," Jane agreed. "She's gonna make a lotta noise. They'll be able to smell her, too. Now you've got no choice but to lock down and ride it out."

"This place doesn't seem safe for a baby being born," Clem returned.

"There are buildings not far from here," Travis said. "We're gonna need to get her there and fast."

Bonnie went over towards the map, then assigned locations. "The museum seems like it could be a good start. I'll go."

"Good idea," Luke agreed. "Mike, think you could go with her?"

Mike and Bonnie went away to the museum, leaving Jane to go to the building that was by the river. The others quickly found other tasks; Luke checked the perimeter for supplies or walkers, Clem and Travis went with Jane, and Kenny stayed with Rebecca.

I made the decision to check on Sarah, who hadn't moved from sitting against a wall since she was brought back.

I approached her slowly and stood nearby, not wanting to invade her space. "Hey, Sarah. How're you feeling?"

"They were going to leave me."

"What?" I raised an eyebrow, then moved closer to sit beside her.

"When they came to get Luke and I, Jane just wanted to go but I couldn't move. They were going to leave without me."

I felt angry and worried at the same time. Sarah was only a bit older than Clementine, how did I know Jane wouldn't just leave her like that? I was glad Travis had gone with them to check out the building.

"Was it just Jane?"

"No... Luke tried to escape pretty fast but Clem wouldn't leave without me and Travis helped her... Why didn't they just leave me?"

I frowned, slowly putting my hand on her arm in comfort. "Clem's a good friend. She'd never leave anyone behind. Same with Trav, he couldn't just let you stay there. You deserve to be here as much as the rest of us."

Sarah began to cry, and I put my arm around her now into a hug.

"I just want my dad," she sobbed. "When... When he gets here, we should all go back to the cabin. We're safe there."

I bit my lip. "Sarah, your dad... He wouldn't want us to go back on ourselves. I'm sure the cabin was lovely, but we have to go somewhere new."

"How will my dad find us?"

"He's... He's not going to find us yet, Sarah. One day though, you'll be together again."

Sarah cried more into my arm, her body shaking. I didn't know whether I'd said the right things, I just hoped I had.

After a while, Luke headed off to go check on the building by the river, and I was now stood with Rebecca and Kenny since I thought Sarah should spend some time alone.

The pregnant woman clutched onto her stomach and tried to remain calm.

"I'm going to walk or stand, maybe it'll relieve the pain a little," Rebecca decided.

"Okay," I responded, keeping my eyes on her as she stood so I knew she was fine.

Kenny had said nothing since I sat down with them, and I knew that had to change soon.

"Kenny, please don't make this silence go on. I can't take this."

The man sighed.

"Kenny."

"I don't know what you want me to say, Marcey."

I turned to face him more.

"I want the old you back. I know you've been through shit, worse than I have, but you can't let it eat away at you. There are so many people in this group, now. Soon there'll be three kids to look after, and you're the most experienced one who knows how to do that. Please, Kenny. Don't make us give up on you."

The words seemed to snap him back into reality.

"I'm sorry I've been like this, Marcey. You're right. That baby needs me."

"Yeah," I smiled.

Kenny finally smiled, and I felt almost like I could cry. It was that old smile that was so familiar and comforting, reminding me of how things used to be. Back when things were better because we were safe at that motor inn.

"I'm not supposed to be in labour yet, Kenny," Rebecca worried suddenly. "What if something's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Kenny assured her. "Babies know how to be born."

"You'll be fine, Rebecca. You've got all of us to support you."

"Thank you," she said, leaning her head on her arm. "Clementine!"

I followed her gaze and saw the young girl walking towards us, accompanied by Travis.

"You're back," I commented. "What was it like?"

"Safe," Travis replied.

"There's a room up there that might be good for when Rebecca has the baby," Clem explained. "Jane's trying to get it open."

"Awesome," I smiled.

Travis looked over at me and then tilted his head away as a signal. "Can we talk?"

I nodded and the pair of us walked away from the others, sitting down on a wall nearby.

"What's up?" I wondered.

Travis had a clear sense of discomfort, an expression of tension on his face. "Back at the building, a guy found us."

"_What_?"

"He was limping, pretty much defenceless. Jane tried to rob him of medicine and basically had a breakdown. I didn't know what to do... He didn't seem much older than us."

"So you let him go?" I asked. He nodded in response and I put my hands onto my face. "Trav, the last time we trusted someone who was a similar age to us, you ended up knocked out on the floor and almost killed."

"You know, I remember that quite well. You think I don't realise the dangers of trusting people?"

Surprised by his attitude, I looked away and said no more. Him being snappy with me was my last concern, my main worry was about where Rebecca was going to safely have the baby.

"I didn't mean to sound like that," he apologised, putting his bandaged hand on my shoulder. "This is just so stressful. How are any of us meant to look after a baby out here? If it cries, it's going to draw attention. It's going to need food and warmth and sleep."

"Kenny knows what to do," I replied. "He's done this before, and the rest of us will just figure it out too. You said you wanted to stay with them, and I certainly don't want to leave them now."

It was Travis' turn to look away then. We both had our backs to one another, like there was a barrier between us.

He made me angry sometimes, but mostly I wanted to be with him all of the time. We'd hardly been apart for the whole time we knew each other and we'd seen a lot of troubling things, but maybe I was stupid for letting myself like him, considering the situation we were in. With everything that kept happening to us I felt more like we were taking our frustration out on each other.

"I wish things weren't like this."

I turned back, seeing Travis looking at me, his eyes soft against the harsh scar that crossed his eyelid. I could see him scanning my face for the injuries I'd obtained during our time at Howe's.

"I mean the apocalypse. I wish I could have just been away with the school band and met you in the city, in completely normal circumstances. Things would be so much easier then."

"I wouldn't say things would be easier," I shrugged, my eyes trailing to the hand where he'd been bitten by the dog. "You could have got that bite from any dog in the city, and the scar on your eye," I continued, looking back up, "you could have gotten that from a random fight."

"Okay so I could still get all these injuries in non-apocalyptic situations, and you could have gotten those too," he said, nodding his head at the bruises and cuts on my face from Carver's attack. "But me and you could have just been normal. Finished school, got jobs, got a home and..." his voice trailed away.

I couldn't dwell on that thought. Things weren't normal and probably would never be. I didn't know how many people had died overall. It would take a long time to restore balance, even if the system was deeply flawed before the outbreak. I knew things would never be normal like they used to be. I would never get the life I'd dreamed of growing up.

"I think everything we've been through has made us stronger in a weird way," I muttered. "Because without each other to complain to and snap at, we would have to keep it bottled up or we'd hurt someone else by taking it out on them. With each other, we get over it pretty quick. We get through it together."

For what felt like a few long seconds, we just stared at one another. And I realised a few things.

Firstly, he was definitely not that same old teenager I'd met in the woods that day. He lost that young face, his skin was dirtier now too. His hair needed cutting- so did mine- but it was growing in a way that no longer looked childish. The scar across his eye made him appear even older somehow. His face just said that he had been through so much trouble.

Secondly, I realised how I never wanted to lose him. With Clementine, I knew I loved her like a younger sister. I needed to protect her and look out for her, and I would always want to be with her as long as she wanted to stay with me.

With Travis, it was a different kind of feeling. I never wanted to be apart from him because of how my heart raced when he stared into my eyes and how I couldn't help but want him to be near me when I was hurt.

I think he was having the same thoughts. He shuffled closer to me, wrapping his arms around me until my head rested on his shoulder and I shut my eyes, feeling him slowly rest his own head on mine. And I never wanted to move from there again.

* * *

**Aw cute little scene at the end there. Anyway I hope this chapter made up for the last few, I kinda felt like I was boring you guys... **

**More exciting things to come, so please do leave a review if you can because they make me really happy to see what you think! See you next week :) **


	21. Collapse

While Travis and I were talking, Clementine had gone to investigate what Bonnie and Mike had found. The pair of us returned to stand with Rebecca and Kenny, since now the pain had started to increase for the pregnant lady and I knew we would have to hurry to get somewhere for her to give birth.

Sarah had decided to stand with us too, yet still didn't say anything. I knew she needed time to recover... if she ever would.

Suddenly, Rebecca was crying loudly in agony.

"Deep breaths, Rebecca, you're going to be fine," I assured her, getting only incoherent shouts as a response.

I didn't notice the other three return, but soon they were stood beside us all carrying a coat and two bottles of water.

"Great, you got supplies!" I smiled. "See, Rebecca, your baby is going to be okay. We've got this."

"I hope we do," Travis mumbled, his face completely anxious.

"Cl... cl... Clementine!"

All of us looked over at Sarah as she called the young girl's name. At seeing her frightened expression, we followed her gaze to see walkers heading towards us, their weak arms reaching out towards us.

"Shit, walkers!" Bonnie gasped.

"How'd they get that close without anyone seein' 'em?!" Mike asked, confused and alarmed. "Where the hell's Luke?"

"We need to leave!" I shouted. "Clem, where's the place you found?"

"I'll show you!"

"Okay, Mike and Kenny grab that water, Bonnie you help Rebecca," I commanded.

"On it," Mike said.

Everyone got to what they were doing, and we quickly all followed Clemetine and fled the walkers.

We ran up to the building that Clementine guided us to, knowing the walkers weren't far behind. Quickly we got up the steps, where Clementine stopped and looked into the open doorway.

"That was about as human as I've felt in a long time," I heard a man's voice say. "I almost forget what... Clementine!"

"What is going on here?!" I roared. "Get the fuck up and help us, there are walkers everywhere that you were meant to be looking out for!"

Luke and Jane scrambled to their feet instead of sitting together and I could feel my blood boil in anger.

"In here, let's get you comfortable," Bonnie guided Rebecca.

"What the fuck are you two doin' up here?" Kenny shouted.

"Instead of shouting how about we help Rebecca?" Travis suggested.

"Just tell me what's goin' on?" Luke asked.

"What's goin' on is you're a reckless fuckin' moron," Kenny shot back.

"I'm reckless! You know, you've got a lotta nerve, Kenny."

Clementine interrupted with a shout. "Rebecca's having her baby!"

"Now?!"

Rebecca cried in pain to confirm the answer.

"Okay, Rebecca sit down right here and everything will be fine," I instructed. "Make yourselves useful and go help Mike out on the stairs!"

Everyone but Clem, Travis and Kenny ran outside to hold off the walkers that were threatening our safety. I shot a worried look at my friends. We were going to die and I knew it. There was no way we could prevent them all getting to us.

Kenny crouched to Rebecca on the floor. "Two of you go help out there. I just need one person to help."

"Clem, you can stay here," I said. "We'll protect you."

The young girl nodded and Travis and I exited the room to go and aid the others.

There were so many walkers. Everyone who had guns were firing them, but I knew that wouldn't work. There was only so much ammo.

"Find something to block this gate," Luke demanded.

I turned to locate something while Travis was shooting the walkers.

"The cannon!" I shouted.

"I'll help you move it," Travis replied, passing his gun to another.

We rolled the cannon over toward the gate that blocked the walkers from us, until I felt the weight of it drop on my side.

"Holy fuck!"

Everyone jumped back as the wooden panels began to snap under the weight of the cannon.

"What the fuck is goin' on out there?!" Kenny shouted from inside the building.

There was a creaking noise that drew all of our attention, and then everyone was scrambling to get back into the building and shouting at each other as the deck started to fall.

Sarah, Jane and I were the slowest since we were all further away. I knew one of us would die, and I was not going to let it be them. Without thinking I had grabbed onto Sarah's shoulders and pushed her ahead of me, making her fall into the building where she was safe while Jane and I tumbled down with the decking.

"Marcey!" I heard Clem and Travis shout together.

"Help!" I panicked down from the decking. I was stuck.

With one leg trapped under piles of the wood, I knew something was wrong from how I'd landed on it and the pain shooting through it from my ankle.

"My leg," I shouted up. "I can't move it."

I couldn't stop the tears welling in my eyes as I saw the oncoming walkers.

There was a thump beside me and Jane landed, starting to throw away planks of deck that had landed on my left leg, trying to free me. Gun shots fired at the walkers as another body landed down beside us.

"I've got you," Travis comforted as he lifted me free from the wood.

With my arms around their necks and them holding onto me, we somehow managed to get up the slope before any of the walkers reached us.

I was crying as Travis carried me inside the building while the others tried to destroy the rest of the deck to prevent the walkers climbing up to us.

"What happened to me," I sobbed. "It hurts now so bad."

"I think you broke something around the bottom of your leg," Travis told me. "I... I don't know what to do. What do I do, Marcey?"

I took deep breaths to calm myself down. The walkers weren't going to get to me and a broken leg could have been much worse.

"I need something to lean on when I walk," I answered. "The pain is mostly around my ankle and foot, so my boot should be sturdy enough to hold it for now. Rebecca..."

I heard the loud crash of the deck outside as it fell to the ground. Then everyone came inside, all looking over at the pregnant lady who was silent. And so was the baby.

"Oh... oh no," Bonnie whispered sadly.

"Kenny?" Clementine asked as she stared at the man who held the motionless baby in his hands.

But at the sound of the girl's voice, the baby began to cough and cry- the best thing any of us had heard all day. And we could all relax then knowing we were safe and the baby was alive... We were all alive.


	22. Sympathy

After the dramatic ordeal, everybody tried to get some sleep. I couldn't.

My eyes gazed across everyone individually. Rebecca sat on the floor with her new baby, cradling it in her arms and watching it breathe like she feared it would stop, while Sarah lay next to her. The love in Rebecca's eyes was clear, but I sensed she was thinking more about the deceased father and how the baby resembled him.

Mike and Bonnie lay on the floor near her, both fast asleep. I knew they'd both been working hard, since they'd been trying to find supplies for the baby and Rebecca.

Clem slept near me, her head resting on Travis' arm while he slept too. I stared at the two of them for a while, noticing how they both looked so calm and peaceful. I wished they could look that relaxed more often, but circumstances meant the stress was evident everyday.

I remembered Ashleigh, the young girl from the woods. We had a moment of feeling relaxed and normal again when we were singing together. I wanted to feel normal again. To not be battling to survive.

I felt a warm tear slide down my cheek and contrast with the cold temperature of my body. If we didn't move soon then we'd freeze to death.

My leg hurt a lot, the broken bone aching whenever it wasn't perfectly still. I wished I could just go to a hospital, get it fixed up and then spend a few days recovering at home watching movies on the sofa. Those times were so underappreciated before.

"You're still awake?"

I wiped the tear from my face and looked at the speaker.

"Yeah," I replied. "This leg is hurting too much. How's the baby?"

"He's so beautiful," Rebecca answered. "I wish Alvin was here with us."

We fell into a silence and the conversation ended.

I shut my eyes and hoped to fall asleep, trying to block out the pain.

My body jumped as I woke up, my breathing rushed in a panic, my eyes darting around my surroundings in the darkness.

"Marcey?"

My eyes settled on Kenny, who sat near Rebecca- presumably so he could be watching the baby.

"I'm fine."

"You sure don't look fine, kid."

The man stood and walked over before sitting down beside me.

"I just had a nightmare, but I'll be fine."

"You should talk about it," he suggested, trying to comfort me. "You keep things bottled up and you'll end up like me."

"How so?" I wondered.

Kenny ignored that, but I think I knew what he meant.

"It was horrible," I told him as I stared at my hands. "I was alone and surrounded by walkers. They were closing in to me and I was shouting for help, calling names of people... but as I said their name, they appeared as the walkers around me."

"Who?" Kenny gently asked.

"Doug was there... And also Lilly and Carley," I paused. "Katjaa... And Ben was there, with Omid and Christa. Lee was with my parents. And then you, and Travis and Clementine."

Kenny put a hand on my shoulder. "It wasn't real, Marce. That's not how things have turned out for them and not how it'll go for us."

"How do you know?" I whispered weakly. "We don't know how we'll die."

"We ain't gonna let it happen," he assured me. "I ain't gonna let it. You three are still kids to me, I'm still gonna protect you."

"You can't protect us forever, Kenny."

The reality of that seemed to ring through his head, and the man nodded once. "Try and get more sleep, we still got hours til daylight."

I nodded and he went back to Rebecca and the baby. I glanced at Travis, who to my surprise was watching me with eyes that couldn't stay open.

"You okay?" He asked drowsily.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Go back to sleep."

He held out an arm to me in his semi-asleep state and made a noise of slurred speech.

"What?" I raised an eyebrow.

"C'mere," he repeated.

I shuffled closer, wincing at the pain of my leg, until Travis' arm landed around my shoulders.

"I'm so tire..." He mumbled. "I feel like I'm dreamin'."

I smiled at him as he blinked slowly. He'd hardly been able to sleep for weeks, especially during the time where we were separated from Clementine. Always having to swap our schedule meant there was no routine and our bodies struggled with staying awake or falling asleep- but that was just a sacrifice we had to make in order to stay alive and keep everyone else safe.

"Go back to sleep, you need it," I told him again.

He didn't need telling a third time and was out like a light.

Clementine lay further away on the floor and had moved from before, so must have woken up in the night. I noticed her shivering but was hopeless at being any help since she was far from me and I couldn't move well.

"I got her," Kenny spoke in the silence.

He rose from the floor and draped his jacket over Clem for extra warmth before sitting back down with the baby in his arms.

I noticed how he cradled the child while it slept. The way he held it tightly like he had to protect it- like he would never let it go. I was sure we would all act like that, since there was a shared responsibility between all of us to care for the child, but this was a different kind of thing for Kenny. I think he was reminded of his own baby, about how he couldn't protect him. And at that moment, I completely forgot about how Kenny had seemed to full of anger recently. Instead he was just a sad, grieving man... And I had never sympathized for anything more than I did for him.

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**So I'm thinking of doing two updates a week instead of one because I finished writing last night so the story is complete! Eight chapters left, so you guys can choose. Would you like one update a week for eight more weeks, or two updates for four weeks? Leave a little review or message me with your vote. **

**I hope this story is still good for you guys, I'm really proud of this and I think the upcoming chapters are really intense. Thank you for the support you guys give! It means so much. See you next chapter!**


	23. War

**So it's two updates a week from now on. I'm thinking Mondays and Fridays? I hope that's good with you all. Thank you again for your reviews, I hope you enjoy the chapter! **

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After a few days resting, we set off through the snow to head to Wellington. I'd hardly slept, and having to lean on a thick branch as a walking stick was more uncomfortable than I had imagined. I was so tired.

Jane had left us. She made her exit in the middle of the night, leaving Clementine with a nail file to remember her by. I couldn't say I missed her since I'd hardly gotten to know her.

Sarah, who had still hardly spoken, walked near Luke as if he was her protector. I knew she needed time to recover from what she had seen, but I worried she would never get over that. I knew what nightmares I had, and I knew how Clem had been forced to grow up so quickly after what she'd experienced back in Savannah. Sarah would never be the same innocent child again, but at this rate she wasn't growing up either.

Kenny charged ahead of the group, plodding through the snow like we were in a race. Sure, we wanted to get out of the cold fast but with injured, recovering and troubled people, we needed to take our time.

Bonnie walked beside Rebecca, holding her arm in support. I worried the new mother would collapse under the strain of our travelling, and her skin had adopted a sick colour that I knew wasn't right.

Clementine, Travis and I stuck together near the back of the group- mainly because I was slowing us down while limping.

"Go on up ahead, I'll catch up," I said as I stopped walking to rest.

"Clem, would you tell Kenny we need to take a break soon? I think Rebecca needs to stop too," Travis asked the little girl, who nodded and ran to talk with the man.

"No, we didn't need to do that," I shivered. "If we stop we'll freeze."

"Marcey's right," Kenny spoke up, "we coulda been some place warm now had we not waited."

"Rebecca's exhausted," Luke interrupted him harshly. "We all are. She would have been even more tired if we'd gone immediately. She was in no condition to move."

"She's worse now," Kenny snapped back.

"Arguing isn't solving anything," Travis shot in. "Let's just have it your way and keep going. The faster we move, the sooner we can rest."

"Right. Everybody hang in there. We've got to keep moving if we're to get to that town before nightfall," Kenny instructed.

I began to walk again as Travis wrapped an arm around me for support, taking the weight off my injured leg a bit.

"You're going to get cramp in your arm if you keep tryna hold me up," I chuckled to lighten the mood.

"You kidding?" He smiled back. "I could carry you you're so light."

"Don't you dare," I laughed.

I laughed too soon.

"Put me down!" I gasped as I was lifted into his arms. "I still have the use of one leg, you know."

"No, this is easier."

"Travis," I muttered angrily as Luke and Sarah both looked back at us.

He rolled his eyes with a grin and placed me back on my feet, helping me again as I hobbled along with my walking stick.

"Oh," Rebecca said suddenly as she fell to the floor.

"Rebecca!" I panicked.

Bonnie crouched down with her, checking that both she and the baby were okay as the child began to cry.

"Over here," Mike called. "There's a place to sit."

"Go help Rebecca," I told Travis, who then aided Bonnie in guiding the woman to her seat.

I limped over with Clem holding onto one of my arms and we all gathered around the woman.

"Rebecca, let me take the baby," Kenny suggested.

"He's okay," she assured. "I've got him."

"No, you rest for a minute. I'll watch him."

"Back off, Kenny! She said she doesn't want you to take the baby, don't be weird about it, okay?" Luke argued.

"I ain't bein' weird about it!" Kenny retaliated.

"Yeah, you kind of have been. And not just now."

"He's not your baby," Clementine interjected.

Kenny calmed. "I was just tryna help."

I sat down near Rebecca to rest my leg. "Look, us all snapping at each other's throats is doing no good. We need to be civil, all cooperate. Unless it's really necessary, Rebecca gets to decide where her baby is. And we all need to listen to one another- if we need a break, we take a break."

Nobody replied but Travis nodded in agreement.

"So, we take this little rest and then-"

"Hello?!"

All our heads turned to the voice in the distance. Something about the voice was almost comical, since I couldn't see where it's owner was in the snow, although it was no laughing matter considering our state.

"Who's this?" Mike asked.

The voice shouted again, only this time in a language I didn't understand.

Clementine did. "Arvo?"

"Arvo?" I repeated. "Who the hell is Arvo?"

"That kid that Jane tried to rob from," Travis answered, his back straightening as he suddenly seemed tense.

"You know this sonuvabitch?" Kenny asked him and Clem. "What's he want?"

Bonnie squinted her eyes to look at the young man. "He doesn't look like much."

"Seems like he's got a bad leg like me, too," I noticed. "I'd better keep this stick."

"He has a sick sister," Clem told us. "They might be in trouble."

"Yeah, but where is she?" Travis muttered sceptically.

The group moved forward a bit as if to shelter Rebecca and her baby, but also blocking my view. Travis stood in front of me, one hand behind his back like he was holding it out to me or hiding me from Arvo.

"Hello," he said, the Russian accent prominent in his voice. "Your name is Clementine, yes?"

"Hi, Arvo," Clem greeted in a confused tone.

"These are your friends?"

I drew my eyebrows together. This kid was either hoping we'd let him join our group, or he was stalling for something else.

"I'm hoping you can help me now, not like before," he continued. "All of you can help."

"What do you need?" Clem wondered. "How can we help?"

"I need...a... things for... bandages! I need bandages."

"Are you hurt?"

My hand flew to Travis' that he was holding out. He was stalling.

"No."

The voices came from behind me, a whole group of them.

Travis turned and grabbed onto my arms, moving close as the Russian people ambushed us. My heart raced at the sight of their guns.

They started talking amongst themselves and Travis and I stared at each other. I could feel the panic rising in my chest, my breathing becoming difficult and my hands trembling.

"You're okay," he whispered to me before talking to the others. "We have nothing. We don't want any trouble here."

"I told them you're the one who robbed me. They think it's funny that you're just a little girl," Arvo explained to Clementine, ignoring Travis. "And they want you and your friends to put down your guns so we can take your things."

"Woah, woah, hang on now!"

"What the hell?"

"Calm down," Travis whispered to me again.

All I could think about was how someone was going to be shot- and Rebecca and I couldn't run.

"I don't see that other woman who was with you."

"Jane's gone," Travis told him, looking away from me for a second. "She was the one who took your stuff and she's gone."

"It's a trap!" Arvo exclaimed.

Trap!? He was the one who tried to trap us!

The guns clicked around us and my heart felt like it was going to burst through my chest.

"Travis," I mumbled. "Keep Clem safe."

"All of you, just put your guns down. This will be fine," Arvo commanded.

"We have a baby!" Clem shouted.

"You have a baby with you?" Arvo suddenly sounded interested or... guilty.

The voices began to shout over one another, and Travis now just held onto one of my hands while he joined in trying to negotiate with the gang.

All I could hear then was the cry of the baby, and I realised Rebecca was no longer comforting it beside me.

I looked up and my eyes met Clementine's, who were full of worry as they moved to look at Rebecca... who grunted next to me and began to move.

"Oh my God," I whispered in realisation. "Travis!"

Clem had already raised the gun, firing it right at Rebecca's head to protect us and the baby.

And that started our war.


	24. Winning

Everything was like a blur. Travis and I fell to the ground. My eyes flooded with tears from pain and fear. The gun shots around me wouldn't end.

"The baby," I managed to say.

Kenny was yelling at the other shooters, Mike and Luke too. They were all sheltered behind walls and trees, but we had no shelter, and neither did Clementine. I had no idea where Sarah was- I could only hope she hadn't run away again.

"Sarah!" I heard Clem call.

And then the girl appeared and the two of them ran together behind a wall. Both safe.

"I've got him," Travis' voice came over the bullets. "We need to move, come on!"

"I can't run!" I shouted at him through my tears. "Just go!"

"I'm not leaving you," he stated, suddenly lifting me from the floor despite my protests in pain, and then we were running and I felt like all the bones in my leg would crumble beneath me.

But then we were safe, behind a wall where the bullets couldn't reach us and it was a miracle we hadn't been hurt.

"Shit, okay. Okay, we've got to do something, y'all," Luke explained. "We're pinned down here."

"No shit," Travis replied. "I need a gun."

Then he was given a weapon and I was given the baby.

"I kill every one of you!" I heard one man shout suddenly, and more gun shots followed.

"We need to get the angle right," Travis told Luke. "Stay out of his sight, keep him distracted somehow."

"Cover me, alright?" Luke said. "Just shoot over to the woods."

"You're gonna get your head blown off!" Clem exclaimed.

"We'll be fine, you two just stay down," Travis instructed.

On his signal, Luke ran out of cover and towards the woods while Travis fired from above the wall. I heard the sound of a bullet enter someone's skin and the rapid firing of guns as I held Clem, Sarah and the baby close to me, praying we would make it out alive.

"You get out here, or we put a bullet in this kid's head!" Kenny ordered.

I peered around the wall and spotted the man and Luke holding Arvo hostage. Two of the attackers were both dead on the ground, meaning there was only Arvo and one other man left.

As I watched, Clementine began to ask me what Kenny was doing, but then I was distracted by the movement of the woman on the ground behind Kenny and Luke.

"Travis, walker!" I shouted.

He shot her head instantly, and Arvo spiralled out of Kenny and Luke's grasp, falling to the ground beside her body then looking in Travis' direction with an expression of rage and hatred. The man behind the rock stepped out and raised his gun to shoot, until then he just gurgled and turned- showing us the knife that was planted in the back of his neck.

Kenny fired the gun and put the man out of his misery.

"It's safe to come out," Kenny informed us.

"Are... are they dead?" Sarah asked me, her voice full of fright.

"Uh, yeah," I told her. "They can't hurt us now."

Bonnie took the baby from my arms while Travis and Clem helped me up. It was then that I noticed a new figure in the woods by Kenny- Jane.

"Jesus Christ... that was, uh... that was intense," Luke spoke.

"I thought... man, I thought that was it."

"Well we're all safe," Travis replied. "Anyone wounded?"

"I got hit," Mike answered, pointing to the blood on his arm.

"We're not all safe," I remarked, looking over at Rebecca, who was slouched in her seat with a bullet through her brain.

The group walked over to her, and I felt like crying with the weight of losing another person... And the baby had no parents anymore.

Clem and Jane approached us after their conversation and stood beside in silence.

"How did this happen?" Mike wondered sadly.

"She... turned. Just like that."

"Clem spotted her first... did what she had to do to protect the baby, and Marceline and Travis," Bonnie explained.

"We shouldn't have pushed her," I muttered. "If we'd rested a bit longer then maybe..."

"This isn't anybody's fault, okay?" Luke said, looking between Clem and I. "She just... She lost too much blood."

"We didn't know what we were doing back at that building. We didn't have the supplies to keep her well. It's nobody's fault," Travis continued after Luke.

"You saved their lives," Mike told Clementine.

The little girl looked at me, unconvinced. I knew it wasn't the first time she'd had to kill someone she knew, and the memory was probably eating away at her mind.

"She's with Alvin now," Clementine then remarked.

"Yeah, yeah she is," Bonnie responded with a broken tone. "Don't worry, Becca, we'll take care of your boy. You rest easy."

I turned my head away from the sight of the body as Sarah began to sob. Instead, my gaze fell upon Arvo, and I felt my stomach twist; Kenny felt the same.

The man marched over to him, grabbing Arvo's collar and snatching him from the ground.

"You piece of shit!" He yelled, raising a fist and bringing it down with force.

The others ran over to stop Kenny, and I knew it wasn't his fault that Rebecca had died but we would have saved a lot of trouble if he hadn't decided to participate in that ambush. I was on Kenny's side.

"It's over man," Mike insisted as he and Luke defended Arvo. "He ain't a threat to us."

"How can you say that?! Of course he is!"

The man raised a gun, but I wasn't sure I agreed with him that much.

"Kenny, no!" I shouted, hobbling quickly over and grabbing his arm. "This won't bring her back."

"His... his sister is dead," Clementine commented. "He's lost enough already. You don't have to do this."

"There is house, food, please... please, I can take you," Arvo tried.

"Bullshit!" Kenny declared.

"No, no! Is true. We have place... not far. Food!"

I looked over at Travis who stood on the other side of Kenny, waiting to see what his reaction was.

"Do you trust him?" I asked.

Kenny's eyes flicked from me to Travis, though the gun was still aimed at Arvo.

"I don't know," Travis shrugged. "But if he's telling the truth and we don't even go to check it out, we'll have lost out on supplies."

"Travis is right," Luke decided.

"Think about the baby, Kenny."

"Kenny," I pleaded as he turned and looked at me. "Please. We're going to starve and freeze otherwise."

He stared into my eyes for a second, and I had to admit I felt scared. He looked so threatening and I feared he would turn the gun around on one of us, but I tried to convince myself he would never do that. It was no secret that Kenny had issues with his anger, that was evident enough back in the city.

I relaxed when I saw his eyes calm, and then the gun was lowered and I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.

"We got something to tie this shitbird up?"

I smiled slightly at Travis as he now relaxed too.

"Follow me, I take you," Arvo said, beginning to lead the way when Bonnie had restrained him from the risk of attacking us.

"Let's go," I said to Clem and Travis as the others began to walk ahead. "We might have some journey ahead of us..."


	25. Trust

"How's your leg, do you need to rest?"

I shook my head despite the shooting pains that ached up my broken bones. "No, I'm good, just... this stick isn't quite as good a walking aid as I'd expected."

Travis wrapped his arm around my waist while I put an arm around him to support myself, though still I could feel every step I took like my leg was being crushed.

"How much further?" Travis shouted up to Arvo, who walked further on ahead.

"Not far," he replied.

He'd said that when we started walking an hour ago.

Kenny was right behind the young man, pointing his gun into his back like he feared we'd be subjected to another attack. Behind him was Bonnie, Mike and Luke, each sharing irritated glances at the protective man's behaviour. Jane walked just in front of Travis and I, with Clementine and Sarah on either side of her.

As we caught up with them, I captured a snippet of their conversation, that I knew I should ignore.

"... It's all starting to pile up. It's weighing on him. Everyone has a breaking point."

Travis and I looked at each other in understanding of their conversation. They were talking about Kenny.

"Come on, slowpokes!" Bonnie called back to us, since we'd all fallen quite far behind.

I hoped it wouldn't be much further to walk, because otherwise I was sure I'd have to be left behind.

I hit the floor with a thump, dragging Travis halfway down with me.

"Wait up! Wait, we need to stop," Bonnie announced.

"I'm sorry," I apologised as Travis and Mike helped me up. "We can keep going."

Kenny paused and looked back at me. "All right, wait there."

But Arvo didn't stop.

"Hey, what'd I say?"

And Kenny charged after him, shoving him to the ground. "When I tell you something, you fuckin' listen, you understand?"

"Kenny, stop being like that," Luke shouted at him.

"Kenny!" Clem echoed. "He understands."

The group separated a bit to take a break.

I examined my leg quickly, though could hardly touch it from where it hurt badly.

"We need some more support for that," Bonnie informed. "I'll go get some bandages."

"Thank you."

Travis was watching Kenny, Mike and Arvo as they stood away arguing with one another, and I too found myself watching.

"He argues much more now," I noticed.

"Yeah," Travis agreed. "I think he's showing who's boss, establishing that he's gonna protect everyone."

"Sure but we can defend ourselves... managed for months without him."

"Maybe he's just scared of losing us again."

Luke and Clementine neared us then, wondering how I was feeling, though they equally looked emotionally drained.

"How's that leg holding up?" Luke asked cautiously, knowing my tolerance for him was slipping after the incident with Jane at the building.

"It fucking hurts," I replied bluntly.

"Alright, I... I was just being considerate," he responded, taken aback. He paused for a few minutes. "How did we get here?"

"You mean right here?" I raised an eyebrow. "Using our legs..."

"Walking," Travis smiled.

"Limping for some," I returned, mirroring the grin.

"Very funny," Luke continued with a brief laugh. "I mean... Sittin' in the snow, leaned up against a tree... Seen hell, dodged some bullets, but alive. When so many of my friends are dead... for no good reason. And I couldn't do anything to stop it. Everyone we set out with... just gone."

"Not everyone," I said. "We're all still here and you've still got Sarah."

"You can't blame yourself," Clem told him. "It wasn't your fault."

"No, not completely. I coulda done more and that ain't up for debate, I know it in my bones. And I've gotta live with that."

We all frowned, staring blankly around us. We all shared that feeling, I didn't doubt. I knew I could have done more to help all those who had died, and God knew it killed me everyday thinking about the effort I failed to put in to keep everyone safe.

"All right, this should work," Bonnie appeared, speaking cheerfully and holding blue material in her hand.

"Thanks, Bonnie," I smiled gratefully as she tied the material around my leg to give it some more support. It wouldn't do much, I knew that, but it was better than nothing.

"Hey, Clem, go over and see if you can change the bandages on Kenny's wound. I offered but I don't think he was comfortable with me doin' it... but you know him better than I do. Maybe he'll let you do it."

The little girl glanced over at the man with uncertainty. "I don't know. It might be gross."

"Oh it's definitely going to be gross," Luke chuckled.

"Stop, that don't change that it needs doin'."

"I've got it," Travis offered. "Clem, you just stay here with Marcey."

"Okay," she smiled with relief.

We sat in silence for a few seconds.

"So, uh... I'm gonna go speak with Sarah, see how she is. And Bonnie, I think Mike just tried to get your attention," Luke decided, though I could see that Mike was looking a completely different way.

"Yeah, I best go see what he wants."

The two walked away, leaving me alone with my young friend.

"I'm glad I didn't have to change Kenny's bandage," Clementine told me.

I giggled. "Yeah, I'm glad you didn't either. Good job we've got Travis looking out for us, huh?"

"Yeah," she smiled.

After some hesitation, she spoke again.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one here who knows Kenny."

"Why?"

She bit her lip. "Jane doesn't trust him, and I'm scared that he'll get angry and the group will try to get rid of him, but I know he doesn't mean it. No one else knows him like we do, they don't know what we've been through."

"Yeah, you're right. We've just got to look out for him, keep him on track so he doesn't do anything stupid."

She nodded.

"Clementine, can I ask you something?"

She looked at me and waited for the question with a slight concern to her expression.

"Do you trust everyone here?"

Clem shrugged at first, but then looked around as she explained how she felt. "Luke is good. I trust him, but he and Jane wanted to leave Sarah when we went to save her... I'm scared they'd do it again, or with someone else. Mike is cool, and so is Bonnie. She gave me this coat at the camp. I think Sarah is scared, but she still feels safe when she's with the cabin group because she's known them for a while. Arvo... I can't decide yet."

"Okay, I'll trust your opinions. Seems like everyone is ready to leave now. Shall we get going?"

"Mmhm," Clem agreed. "Let's get to that food, I'm so hungry and tired."

"Me too, Clem. Me too."


	26. Love

**So I'm kinda excited and nervous about this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it! Please leave a review and let me know if it's good enough. We're getting closer to the last few chapters now, and I want to make sure my writing is still enjoyable!**

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As we reached the hilltop and looked down below, an abandoned factory of some sort appeared into our line of sight.

"What the..."

"Is that it?" Kenny demanded. "Hey, I'm talkin' to you!"

"What? It? It what?" Arvo asked.

"What do you mean 'what'? The place you're fuckin' takin' us!"

"Arvo, we're not trying to be mean to you," Clementine tried kindly. "We just wanna know if this is where the supplies are."

He didn't answer, receiving a gun aimed at his face as punishment.

"Is this the place you're taking us?" Kenny wondered. "Are the supplies here?"

"No, it's... at the house."

I narrowed my eyes. "He's lying to us."

"It's still some walk," he continued, shaking his head at my accusation. "Some more hours, please."

"Goddammit!" Kenny cursed. "I knew this wanna gonna happen."

I signed. "I hate to complain, but... My leg really hurts."

"And it's gettin' dark, maybe we should stop for the night," Bonnie suggested.

"That's a wise idea," Travis said. "Marce needs to rest that leg, and I don't know about you guys but I'm tired."

"Me too," Sarah spoke, holding onto one of her arms.

"If we're staying, we should scout this place out," Jane decided.

Kenny and Jane left together to check that we were safe from walkers, and then once they declared it empty we all went down there, ready to rest for the night.

I forgot how much I loved the feeling of warmth from a fire, though looking into the flames brought me so many mixed emotions. The orange sparks reminded me of the cannibal in the woods, of our final moments with Christa, of getting imprisoned at Carver's camp. But it also brought me good memories... Of the night watching the sunset with Travis, of being reunited with Kenny and Clementine. I decided that I'd much rather remember the good thoughts over the bad ones.

And this evening would surely be a good one, with Clementine and Travis sat either side of me, along with Mike, Luke, Bonnie, Sarah, Kenny and little Alvin Jr, as he had been recently named. Arvo opted to sit alone in the dark, cold shadows. I hoped he wasn't planning anything. I wanted to trust him, because I knew he had lost his sister, and I understood the pain of loss... but I wasn't sure if he was telling us the truth or whether he was sending us on a wild walk just so he had people to look out for him.

"Today's my birthday," Luke suddenly told us. "Near as I can tell, at least."

"Well, happy birthday, Luke," Bonnie smiled.

"Yeah, man, happy birthday."

"So, how old are you now?" Clem wondered.

"I am twenty seven years old," he answered with a smile.

"That's pretty old."

"Clem!" I giggled.

"Sure as hell feel a lot older," Luke thought out loud.

"Don't even start with that shit," Kenny ordered light heartedly.

"Got outta college five years ago," Luke remembered. "Feels like a million years... Least I don't have to worry about paying off them student loans."

"I hear that," Mike chuckled. "I bet there's some asshole sittin' on that paperwork waitin' to collect."

A laugh went around the circle.

"What did you study?" Clem inquired.

"Majored in art history," he answered, a sense of pride clear in his tone.

"Sounds like you majored in working in a coffee shop," Kenny joked.

"Pretty much."

"Oh, stop it," Bonnie smiled.

Luke continued with his college stories. "Did get a minor in agriculture... keep the old man happy."

I found myself gazing into the fire with a sad thought in my head.

"My parents always wanted me to go to college," I spoke without thinking. "They had big jobs for important companies... I guess business was meant to run in the family but I knew it wasn't what I wanted to do. I didn't know what to choose... It all seemed so important back then. I'd do anything to tell them that business wasn't my thing, no matter what their reaction would be... just to have another conversation with them."

Nobody said anything for a while.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Bonnie exclaimed, her tone brightening the mood again. "Was saving it for a special occasion and, well, it being your birthday and all, figure this is as good a time as any!"

In her hand, Bonnie held a bottle of rum that was coloured in a bright red colour. I glanced at Kenny, reminded of that day in Savannah when he last drank alcohol.

"After the day we've had, I think this is the best idea I've got."

"I'd agree with that," Mike told her.

Bonnie passed the bottle to Luke, who opened it and stared for a second.

"Feel a little guilty takin' the first-"

"Woah, wait! You've gotta make a toast."

"I'm not really the uh..."

"Come on, birthday boy," Bonnie pushed. "It don't have to be fancy."

Luke cleared his throat.

"To the loved ones that we've lost along the way..."

My parents, my dog, Lee , Carley, Katjaa, Duck, Ben...

"... And to the hope that we see them again some day."

I felt Clementine looking at me, and held her hand comfortingly.

"Here, here," Mike said.

"That was real nice," Bonnie complimented Luke.

"Yeah?" He smiled slightly. "I didn't mean for it to rhyme, that was-"

"Well, I got first watch."

We all looked up at Kenny in confusion at his sudden declaration.

"I think the fence has got us pretty secure."

"Can't be too careful."

"Come on, Kenny," Clementine spoke happily. "Sit a little while longer."

"Nah, you stay warm," Kenny shook his head.

"Leave him be, Clem," I sighed.

I knew he was probably thinking about his family.

The man walked away with AJ in his arms, leaving the few of us around the fire.

I glanced over at Jane, who had been stood staring out through the fence for ages. I wondered what she was thinking about, and I realised then that I knew nothing about her. I didn't really know anything about anyone in the group... But we never really had time to sit and talk like this.

Bonnie called out to Jane to sit with us, though she politely declined.

"I didn't expect her to come back... Just when I thought I had her figured out she up and surprises."

"I think we would have been more injured if she hadn't come back," Travis stated.

"I know, I know... I just don't know what she's gettin' outta all this."

Clementine spoke up. "We're lucky to have her."

"Well, she helped us back there so that puts her as okay in my book," Luke said.

"Well, it ain't no secret how you feel about her," Bonnie smiled.

"It was stupid," Luke frowned as he passed the bottle to Clem.

She held it in her hand and then looked at me unsure, before deciding to give it to me, thankfully.

"I understand, she's a pretty girl... once you get past all the dirt and guts."

I let out a small laugh before going to sip some of the rum from the bottle.

"I don't know. I guess I just wanted to forget about all this stuff for, like, ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?" Mike joked. "Man, that's longer than I'd last at this point."

I splattered the rum and coughed, both from the comment and from the taste of the alcohol. I'd never really liked it any way.

"Hey," Bonnie laughed.

I passed the bottle to Travis and pulled a face of disgust.

"All right, all right.. it wasn't ten minutes."

"Come on, we got little ones around," Bonnie said, looking at Clem and Sarah.

"Sorry, forget I said anything," Mike apologised.

"I know what you guys are talking about."

Travis coughed and passed the bottle to Mike while we all stared at Clementine with wide eyes.

"I certainly hope not," Bonnie giggled.

"You're talking about kissing stuff..."

Luke hesitated. "Uh, yeah! Yeah... Yeah that is exactly it."

"Was there any kissing?" Mike grinned.

"You shut your mouth right now, the both of you!" Bonnie scolded.

"Hey, why's this gotta be all about me?" Luke asked. "There's clearly another couple here."

I found all eyes drift to Travis and I, feeling my face burn as I looked at him.

"We, uh..." I stuttered.

"Ah, to be young and in love," Mike commented.

Travis stared at me, and opened his mouth as if to speak.

"Alright, enough," Bonnie interrupted.

They all turned away, but the pair of us didn't.

"What?" I asked, waiting for him to speak.

"I..."

"Maybe she came back for you," Bonnie considered.

We turned away from one another then, knowing no words would be spoken, though I just wanted to hear him say what he was thinking.

"I don't know what to say to that," Luke shrugged.

"I don't know, maybe she likes him?" Clem suggested.

"Oh, I think we could bet on that," Mike replied sarcastically. "Cause you see here, Luke's a regular Casanova."

"Hey, shut up."

"Don't be modest, your moves are working on all the ladies."

"Worked on me," Bonnie disclosed, taking a drink of rum. "Shit. I just did it too, didn't I? Sorry. It's the drink talkin'."

"They say a drunk man's talk is a sober man's thoughts," Mike expressed.

"Well, I ain't a man so 'they' can take that shit somewhere else."

We all smiled at one another, then enjoyed the few moments of silence.

"Clem, go see if you can get Jane and Kenny over by the fire, it's too cold for them to be out there like that. Oh, and here, maybe a swig of this will change their minds," Bonnie instructed, handing the girl the bottle of rum. "Sarah, why don't you go with her?"

Clem and Sarah walked away to Kenny to convince him to come over again, leaving us.

"This is nice," I said. "Sitting around the fire. It's calm."

"Makes me feel like I'm a teenager again," Luke reminisced. "Spending nights with friends drinkin' around a campfire. You guys aren't much older than I probably was."

"I'm nineteen," I stated. "But I never spent my time doing any of that stuff."

"So what did you do for fun?"

I thought about it. "Not much. Thinking back, I guess it was pretty boring..."

"I suppose we grew up in a different time," Luke shrugged.

I moved my leg a bit and jumped at the pain.

"What's up?" Travis asked.

"This damn leg," I complained. "Why is it always my leg? Get shot last time, break it this time..."

"You got shot?" Bonnie gasped.

"Bandits a few years ago. Hurt a lot less than this, surprisingly. Recovered from it quicker, too. I just need to walk a bit."

Travis helped me up, volunteering to go with me.

We left the group and walked over to the fence where nobody stood, looking out into the woods.

"I figured they could use a few minutes to talk, and I didn't really want to listen to what Luke got up to in his youth, or a few days ago," I laughed.

Travis also laughed. "Yeah, I agree."

I tilted my head up to see the sky above me, a dark sheet with spots of bright light.

"You never used to see the sky look so pretty back home under all the streetlights and buildings."

"I always wondered how people managed to form shapes out of stars," Travis said, pointing up at them.

"I thought they were pretty cool," I replied. "Did you ever believe in star signs?"

"I don't even know what my sign is," he admitted.

"Yeah, me neither."

My eyes diverted over to the group again, seeing them now sat all around the fire except Arvo.

"We should go back."

"Marceline?"

I turned back to face him.

"I... I'm gonna say it now, okay?"

I waited, feeling a little lost on what to do or say.

"It's been pretty obvious since... well, probably always. And we've talked about it but not acted on it, but when people ask about us and we just get awkward and not know what to say... I don't want things to be like that anymore. Marcey, I think..."

"You think what?" I smiled.

"I think that I might love you."

What was I meant to say. I was speechless. Even if I did already know it and he knew the feeling was mutual, hearing it said out loud made me feel stunned.

"Are... are you gonna say something?"

I grinned and stepped forward, pulling him into a hug. "You're gonna have to give me a few minutes, my mind is literally racing."

He laughed as he hugged me back, and I closed my eyes as we stood like that for a while.

Eventually, Travis brought his face to mine and kissed me.

When we had parted, yet still stood close, I was gazing at his face. I traced the scar that crossed his eye, a mark that would probably never leave his skin.

"You need to stop feeling guilty over the injuries I get."

"Huh?" I moved my hand away.

"I don't know how bad this scar is," he acknowledged. "I can't see it. I don't care about it, and how I got it wasn't your fault."

"I know... I just, I still think about that day. I thought you were going to lose your sight."

"I'm glad I didn't, I wouldn't be able to see you."

"Wow, this is kinda like talking to eighteen year old Travis, not twenty year old," I smirked.

"I'm still that kid," he said, brushing my hair back behind my ear. I could see he was looking at the injuries I had obtained on my face in the past few days too.

"Come on," I said, taking his hand. "Let's get back to the others."

He nodded, and we returned to the group and sat on the floor.

"Well, look who's decided to join us again," Kenny announced.

"And did I see kissing just happening right there?" Mike mocked playfully.

"Guys," I laughed awkwardly, glancing at Clem who was smiling back.

"Finally," Clem simply said.

Everyone began to laugh together, until eventually we decided to get some sleep. We would have another day of walking ahead of us, but I was didn't care about that. I was too happy.


	27. Ice

We set out again in the morning, Arvo leading us with a miserable expression as he limped along.

We'd been walking through the snow for hours, and Kenny was growing less patient by the minute, and my leg was protesting against the journey.

"How are you feeling?" Clementine asked me.

I forced a small smile. "Good enough to last until we get to this house. Hopefully it'll be warm."

"I'm starving," Travis complained. "I'd literally eat any food that was being offered."

"When we went to the ski lodge, a man there made us peaches and beans," Clem recalled. "It was gross."

I laughed a little. "I'd imagine so."

"I remember that," Sarah said. "There was a Christmas tree with lights."

"I love Christmas," I told her. "Especially getting to decorate the tree with my family."

"My dad used to let me put the star on the top of it. Maybe we'll find another tree and we can all decorate it," she hoped, smiling at us.

"That'd be great."

"How much further?" Kenny snapped at Arvo up ahead.

"I don't like when Kenny gets angry like that," Sarah mumbled to Clem.

"He's just trying to get us there faster," she responded kindly.

When I looked forward again as Kenny continued talking to Arvo, something caught my eye. "I'm really startin' to think... you're full of shit."

"Kenny!"

"Behind you!" Clem shouted.

"What the fuck?!"

The walker pounced at Kenny, pushing him down to the floor.

Clem darted forward, aiming her gun without a moment's hesitation and shooting through the walker's skull.

"Kenny," I panicked, rushing over as fast as my leg would let me. "Kenny are you okay?"

"Jesus Christ," he muttered to himself, pushing the walker off of him and standing up.

"That shot will attract more," Travis spoke, holding onto my arm and walking away. "Come on, we need to move now."

"Hey, hey," I said, nudging his hand from my arm. "I can't walk that fast. My leg is gonna give out on me in a minute."

"Right, sorry," he apologised.

The others caught up with us and Arvo nodded his head to across a frozen lake, where to my surprise I saw a cabin house.

"There," he pointed out.

"That piece of shit?" Kenny inquired in disbelief. "It's half built."

"We're here for the supplies, not the house," Jane reminded him.

"It's warm. Fireplace. Very warm."

"I hope so," I said.

"Is there any other way to get there?" Clem wondered. "Do we have to cross the lake?"

I observed the ice, noticing how it looked paper thin... It would surely break under our collective weight.

Travis looked at me, thinking the same thing.

However, we did decide to cross it. Arvo offered to go first, though I knew he would have been there any way so Kenny could keep his eye -and gun- on him.

Clementine voiced my thoughts, saying we should walk individually rather than together to avoid the ice breaking, and so we did.

"Be careful," I told the girl as she walked up ahead by Kenny.

"We should stay together," Travis said to me. "You can barely walk by yourself, it'll take you forever to cross this."

"I'd rather be slow at crossing than end up in that water."

He sighed, then took my hand in his. "Don't panic. Call me back if you're struggling."

"I'll be fine," I assured him.

He nodded and set off after Luke, though kept looking back to see where I was.

I waited for a few seconds until he was far enough ahead that I felt would be okay for the ice before starting to walk across it myself.

Each step felt like I was risking my life, and I was just as scared of slipping as I was of the ice breaking. I stepped carefully, trying to keep my weight balanced rather than being too heavy on one leg.

I realised rather quickly that I was falling far behind, but Travis had stopped.

"Keep going," I called to him. "Don't stand still, the ice..."

"Okay," he reluctantly replied, though I noticed how his pace was slower as he continued glancing back. "Oh, shit."

"We got some walkers behind us," Jane noticed, following Travis' gaze.

I didn't even want to take the time to look behind me, though I felt like my steps were heavier as I tried to hurry, my heart racing with fear.

There was a crashing of ice behind me, making me slip slightly in fright.

"Marceline, you good?" Kenny worried.

"I'm fine... I'll be with you in a minute... Keep walking, guys."

As the man had turned back to check on me, Arvo took his chance and ran, which snapped rage inside of him as he chased.

"No, Kenny, don't hurt him!" Clem begged.

Thankfully, he listened. Arvo, Kenny, Mike and the baby were safe in the snow, with Sarah and Jane not far behind.

The weight below my feet crunched and changed, and I was frozen on the spot. Those who heard turned around to see what had happened.

"Marcey, get the fuck off that spot," Travis ordered in a tone full of concern.

Clem and Bonnie started to walk to me.

"No, no! Stay there!" I waved my hands for them not to approach me. "The weight will definitely break-"

It crumbled beneath me.

The ice cold water stung my legs as they plummeted through the thin sheet, but my arms held onto the part that remained in tact.

"Marceline!"

"The walkers are almost here, hurry!" Clem cried out.

"Just... just shoot them! I... I've got this."

"Clem, go back for her," Bonnie instructed. "You're light, you won't break it."

"Don't you dare come over here, Clem," I shouted. "If this ice breaks more... All of you just go. Please."

"I'm coming to get you Marce," Travis said.

"No!" I shook my head furiously. "Just cover me!"

Finally Bonnie raised her gun and began to fire at the walkers, and then Travis joined her with his face as pale as the ice itself. While I attempted to drag myself out of the lake, I realised Clementine was approaching me carefully. I felt my legs tingling like pins were stabbing them and I knew I couldn't get out of the situation alone, but I couldn't have Clem risk herself to save me.

"I've got you!" Clem reassured me as she reached her hand to hold onto mine. "It's gonna be alright."

"Clem, no, please go back," I shivered.

"No, we can-"

Then the ice gave way, sending us deep into the lake.


	28. Dreams

I kicked out my legs and arms, pain shooting from my broken bones and from the freezing water. I had to get to Clementine, to save her.

I spotted her immediately when I opened my eyes, which added even more to the agony I was feeling. I swam to her and began to hit against the ice like she was, hoping it would break.

She grabbed my arm suddenly and I looked down, seeing the walker that grasped onto her leg as she kicked it. I held onto her and swam away, pulling her with me so the walker would release the girl, which it thankfully did.

Air... I needed air or I would end up drowning.

I looked up above me and saw the light from where the ice had originally fallen, except then I saw the walker reaching out.

I panicked, letting go of Clementine so she could swim to the surface while I dragged away the walker. I pushed off it, putting distance between us until I saw it sink to the ground.

My vision was blurring and my lungs were empty. My eyes began to close and the last thing I saw was a shadow coming towards me. I waited for the pain of the bite, but I only felt numb.

* * *

I couldn't breathe, I was going to become a walker.

"Marcey, breathe," a familiar voice, one I hadn't heard in years, said to me. I looked at where the voice came from, finding myself staring into the eyes of an old friend.

"L... Lee?" I managed to say.

Everywhere around us was dark, but he was in the light.

"Marcey?"

I looked beside me and saw Clementine, younger and scared. And then I could breathe well again.

"You're doing good, Marceline," Lee told me. "Looking after Clementine, I mean."

"I miss you being here, Lee," I cried. "I can't look out for her as well as you could."

Lee shook his head with a smile. "That's not true. Look at her."

When I looked back, Clem was older again, her face not as scared, but just with a look of concern now.

"She wouldn't have made it this far without you and the others looking out for her," Lee explained.

"And I wouldn't be here without them, without you."

"You don't need me here anymore, Marcey. You're stronger than you think."

I stared at Lee for a few seconds, and then he gestured to the young girl.

"Clementine needs you. She's worried about you..."

She appeared upset.

"Go back to her," Lee instructed me with a soft voice. "Travis is scared too, and Kenny... Even if he won't show it as much."

I smiled, but it soon fell back into a frown. "I'm holding them back. Clem wouldn't have fallen into that water had I not broken my leg."

"But she came back for you. She doesn't want to lose you, Marceline. Don't let her lose you."

"Marceline, please come back," the girl whispered with a small sob.

"Please," a new voice mumbled. "Don't leave us."

"Travis."

He stood beside Clem, an arm around her comfortingly.

"Go on," Lee smiled. "I'll see you again one day."

I hugged him, unable to tell him how thankful I was. If Lee had never rescued me back in Macon, I would have died years ago, and I never would have met the people I loved.

My eyes shot open.

* * *

I gasped for air.

"Shit, Marcey," Travis grinned as he noticed me wake up.

"How... How am I here?" I asked, looking around the unfamiliar setting.

I lay in front of a fire, with everyone around except Kenny.

Travis and Clem were beside me, also warming up and wearing damp clothing.

"You pushed me to the surface," Clem informed me. "And Jane dragged me out while Travis dived in after you."

"You did what?" I turned back to him in shock. "You could've gotten yourself killed. I said to leave me."

"As if I'd ever just watch you die," he responded. "I told you, I'd risk my life to protect you any time."

"Thank you... the both of you."

I pulled Travis and Clementine into a hug.

"I was scared," Clem admitted when I let go. "I thought that you wouldn't wake up."

I watched the fire. "I thought I'd died... but I think I was just dreaming and... And I realised I had to come back. I couldn't leave you."

"I'm glad you did," she smiled.

"Me too," said Travis.

I gazed around again. "So this is the house then. Where's Kenny?"

"He's out back trying to get some stupid truck started," Jane announced. "Here."

I caught the can as she threw it over to me, realising it was food.

"Thanks," I smiled.

I opened the can and began to eat the food, feeling the hunger melt away. I felt good again. I was warm, I wasn't hungry, I was with my friends and... Travis.

"I don't think there's a Christmas tree here," Sarah sighed from the other side of the room.

I giggled. "Maybe there'll be one in Wellington."

"That'd be nice," Luke smiled.

We all enjoyed a comfortable silence for a few minutes until Kenny came into the room.

"Feelin' better?"

Clem and I nodded.

"Hell of a day," Kenny commented. "But we gotta keep movin'. If you're feelin' up to it, I could use a hand out back with this truck."

We looked at one another in disbelief.

"Kenny, the three of us have been in freezing cold water. Being outside now will only make us more likely to get ill," I replied.

"Look, guys, I know we're all hurtin' ... But I need your help here."

"I'll go," Travis volunteered.

"You're still cold," I told him. "Your clothes are still wet, you're not going outside."

"And neither are you, with your leg and all," he responded.

I sighed, hoping Jane would go but she showed no signs of moving. Luke, on the other hand, did decide to go and help, rolling his eyes at Clem as he passed. I wasn't sure how long Kenny and Luke would cooperate on fixing the truck, but it would have to do until one of us was well enough to help out.

Once the two men had left the room, I glanced over at Arvo, who was just glaring at us.

"Sorry I said you were lying," I apologised.

He said nothing.

"You must be cold over there," I tried, "so maybe we could get you moved over here with us."

Arvo just looked away.

"Give it up, Marce. He doesn't want to know," said Travis, frowning.

"Will you just listen to what I'm asking you to do instead of trying to do your own thing?!"

We all turned our heads to the back of the house, overhearing Kenny argue with Luke.

"That didn't last long," Jane stated.

"I'll go," Travis stood and left the room.

After a few seconds, Luke stormed inside and sat down beside Jane.

Sarah spoke up. "I don't think Kenny likes you very much."

He let out a laugh. "Yeah, I think you're right."

Mike had returned to Arvo after a while and they kept talking, disturbing the sleeping baby so Jane and Luke took him into another room. Sarah had drifted to sleep next to the warm fire, and everything was so calm.

"Hey, Clementine," I faced the young girl, "thanks for trying to save me back there... Just don't risk your life for me."

"You would have done the same for me, wouldn't you?"

"Of course I would."

"So don't tell me not to try to save you," she smiled.

I smiled back at her, then heard cheers from outside.

"They got the truck working?" Clem wondered.

"Must have done!" I grinned. "You go have a look, I'll... just stay here with Sarah and Arvo."

She nodded and rose to her feet, running outside with Mike.

I looked back to Arvo, who was staring back at me.

"What?"

"Your boyfriend... What is his name?" Arvo asked.

"Travis... Why do you ask?"

He didn't answer.

"Arvo."

"I just wondered."

I raised an eyebrow and we said no more. I understood that he had just been through something awful, but his behaviour still made me feel tense and uncertain. Something wasn't right about Arvo, and I knew that it would be sooner rather than later that we would find out what was going on.


	29. Battles

**I'm just gonna say now- I'm really sorry for this chapter. **

* * *

After a few minutes, members of the group began to re-enter the house, sitting down with expressions ranging between frustration and neutrality. Clementine, Travis and Kenny remained outside, so I presumed they were talking together.

Mike immediately went with Bonnie to Arvo, but their voices were low so I couldn't decipher what they were talking about. I decided I didn't really care, and moved my attention from them to Sarah. She was frowning, staring with a lost gaze into the warm flames of the fire. I felt so sorry for her.

"How's that leg holdin' up?" Bonnie wondered as she sat down beside me on the floor.

I shrugged. "It hurts but it's nothing I can't handle."

"Are you all warmed up?"

"Yeah," I smiled. "God, that water was so cold you wouldn't believe."

"I can imagine," she laughed.

Everyone was silent.

"We should all get some sleep," Bonnie suggested. "We'll have a big day ahead of us all tomorrow."

Her expression had turned less soft and more harsh, like something troubled her. She placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled awkwardly, in a way I would deem guilty looking had she any reason to be so. I trusted Bonnie, though. She checked up on my injuries and had helped us a lot, and I knew she always tried to protect Clementine.

"It's been a hell of a day," Luke sighed, laying down on the floor and shutting his eyes. "See y'all in the morning."

Everyone followed his actions and settled down to rest, though I sat awake waiting for the others to return.

Kenny walked in first, cast me a warm smile and then sat leaning against a wall. His eyes dropped heavily after a minute or so, and then he was snoring lightly.

Travis returned with Clementine a short while after, both seeming sad.

I gave them a concerned look and both sat either side of me.

"What's up?" I asked.

"There were disputes about where we should be goin'," Travis explained. "But I think we should stick to the plan. We should go to Wellington."

"I agree."

"Christa might be there," Clementine mumbled as she shut her eyes. "I hope she is."

I brushed a strand of hair from Clementine's young face and rested my hand on her shoulder.

"Goodnight, Clem."

"G'night," she responded, before falling fast asleep.

I turned to face Travis.

"You saved me today," I told him.

"I suppose I did," he smiled.

I planted a kiss on his cheek and leaned into his arms, so he placed them around me comfortably.

"Do you think we'll actually make it to Wellington?"

He nodded. "Of course we can. We've got that truck working now. I don't even think we'll be travelling much farther."

"Good," I shut my eyes, "because I just want to be somewhere safe now. I don't want to walk for months just trying to survive. I want to live again, feel relaxed. I want to read a book and get lost in it's tales, and not have to worry about whether there's food to eat at the end of the day or if walkers will attack when I'm sleeping."

"I just want to be with you," Travis replied. "Knowing you're safe, knowing Clem is safe. I want this all to be over, and we will come out of it alive and well."

"Maybe we will."

"Yeah," Travis mumbled in a sleepy state. "We will."

"Goodnight," I whispered.

"N'night..."

* * *

The sound of tapping woke me up. I lay in the darkness, listening to the repeating noise before I decided I simply could not sleep without stopping it.

I moved from where I sat, shuffling in my best attempt of silence.

"What are you doing?"

Travis' eyes reflected the window's light in the pitch black.

"The tapping," I said, "I can't sleep."

"Damn, that is annoying. I guess I'll have to investigate."

Beside me, Clem grumbled. "I can go."

"No, no, I wanna go," I grabbed Travis' hand before he could walk away. "My leg needs to move anyway."

"Well okay."

"Try get back to sleep, Clem," I told the sleepy girl.

Travis helped me to my feet and we made our way over to the back door, me limping along but feeling like my foot was beginning to cope with my weight.

When the door was opened, a cold gust of wind made me shiver, reminding me of the harsh bite of the freezing water.

"I can go alone," Travis suggested, noticing my shiver.

"No, no, help me down."

Rolling his eyes, Travis held on to one of my arms and guided me down the steps, where we turned back to look at the source of the tapping. A piece of rope swung when the wind blew, making it bounce off the glass.

"Well how are we meant to stop that?" I sighed.

"I guess we could-"

The sound of an engine trying to start diverted our attention to the truck. And then I noticed the shadowed figures trying to start the vehicle.

Putting an arm out in front of me protectively, Travis began to walk forward towards where the people stood whispering. I was right behind him, noticing the knife that stuck from his pocket, though that wouldn't be quick enough if the robbers had a gun. But we weren't thinking straight, and we continued to approach in silence.

I squinted to see who the people were, and when Travis spoke out to ask who they were, my heart sank and my stomach flipped.

Arvo turned, pointing a gun to us, with Mike stood beside him.

Travis took the knife from his pocket.

"Easy," Mike tried to calm. "Easy now."

"Mike?" I asked, my voice shaking. "What's... What are you doing?"

"Shit," he cursed.

"I got the rest of it."

I turned my head to the new voice, seeing Bonnie approach with a bag in hand.

"Marceline... Travis..."

"We're just leaving," Mike told us.

"And stealing our food? Our car?" I snapped, eyes welling with tears at the sting of betrayal. "We've worked like fucking crazy to get here. We've lost enough, been through enough... Why are you doing this?"

"Now keep it down, alright?" Mike whispered. "Nobody else has to get involved."

"The baby... He needs that food," I stated.

"We just need to get away from that guy," Mike continued.

"Kenny is protecting us," I snarled. "He's been through more than you will ever know. He's not a bad person."

"You're being selfish," Travis argued at them. "Looking after yourselves, ignoring the fact we have kids and a baby with us. We need those supplies more than you, and we're the ones who got that car to work. If you three wanna leave, you go alone."

"We don't have time for this," Mike said, dropping his bag to the floor and then starting to approach slowly as Travis held out the knife.

"Take a step closer, I fucking swear this knife will not be held back," Travis growled.

"Just give me the knife, Travis," Mike tried.

I stared at Bonnie.

"I'm sorry, Marceline," she apologised.

"You knew yesterday you were going to leave," I frowned. "How long have you been planning this? Is that why you helped with my leg? A guilty mind?"

"It wasn't like that," Bonnie rushed.

"I don't want to hear it!" I shouted.

"No, no! Please be quiet, it's-"

The sound of gunfire startled us all, making Travis stumble back into me as if pushing me out of the way, and I screamed in shock.

I frantically looked to Arvo, following the direction of the gun he held... which was aimed at us.

"M..Marcey..." Travis stuttered.

And then I realised.

He fell to the floor, breathing rapidly but struggling.

I cried out, screaming loudly for help. I don't know who's name I called, but I just wanted anyone. Anyone who could stop the bleeding that seeped through Travis' shirt on his chest.

I fell beside him, my hands holding his face as he stared at me with wide, terrified eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Marceline, I didn't mean for this to happen!" Bonnie panicked.

"Help me!" I shouted, ignoring the woman. "Get away! Kenny!"

I clutched Travis' face. "You're okay, you're going to be okay, I've got you."

"Marcey..." He struggled.

I moved my hands to his chest, applying pressure to the gunshot through trembling fingers.

"I...I love you," he told me.

"Don't speak like that," I sobbed. "You're not leaving me. I love you."

His eyes were beginning to close and I screamed again for help. I wasn't sure if anyone was even around me. My eyes were so blurred all I could see was him.

I kissed his face, hoping it would somehow ease his pain, stop this from being real.

"I love you," I whispered.

And then I saw the life fade from his eyes.


	30. Broken

**Firstly, I'd like to apologise for such a delay in posting this chapter. I know I said I'd written the story so it was ready to post, but upon posting the last chapter I realised that I had completely rushed chapter 30 to make it the final chapter, and I really wasn't happy with how it had turned out. So I made the decision to rewrite the ending. I'm really sorry for how long it's taken and I hope to have the following chapter posted soon. Thank you for sticking by this story, I really appreciate every review you guys give and the time you spend in reading this, it honestly means so much. Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

There was a very slim chance Travis could ever survive that gun shot. But we tried to save him- or rather, the others tried to while I was in a complete state of shock. I couldn't think straight, I was numb with the fear that Travis was dead. I couldn't lose someone else, and especially not him. Not so soon.

Sarah had found bandages and medicine, and Luke said removing the bullet would just make matters worse, that it would be best to leave it there. So Jane and Luke bandaged him up to stop the bleeding, and Kenny injected some morphine into Travis' arm to prevent the pain for when - if- he was to wake up.

Clementine stayed by my side at first, I think because she needed the comfort too. After some hours had passed, Clem left me alone and went to another room. I figured it was too much for her to see Travis as he was, lying there cold and pale on the bed with a bandage bound around his chest and his face so still.

I didn't want to leave him alone. He would be so terrified if he woke up and couldn't remember what was going on, so I had to be there for him like he was always there for me. That was the least I could do since I'd gotten him shot in the first place. It was my fault.

After endless silence, a light knocking at the door snapped me from my daze and I finally took my eyes away from Travis. I'd been watching him to check he was still breathing.

"Just came to check on ya," Kenny smiled softly. "There's no change then?"

I shook my head and brought my eyes back to Travis. "I'm so fucking scared that he won't wake up. I feel so guilty."

"This ain't your fault, Marce. He wouldn't want you thinkin' like that, especially since it's not true. That fuckin' Russian kid shot him, not you."

"But if I hadn't mentioned the tapping outside he never would have been out there in the first place."

"If it wasn't him it would have been someone else, it could have been you. Travis would have hated that," Kenny assured me.

"When Arvo fired the gun... I think Travis pushed me to protect me."

"Well what do you expect when he loves ya?" Kenny chuckled. "Marcey, when you love someone you would do anything to protect them... Back before we met, I was at a farm and Clem and Lee were there. The family didn't believe the apocalypse was really happenin'... And their boy was out patchin' up a fence with Duck nearby. Some walkers got nearby and... I rescued Duck and ran away. I coulda helped, but I was scared. I just wanted to keep Duck safe that I didn't even think twice about the other guy."

The man looked so miserable retelling his story. Losing Duck was possibly the worst thing to ever happen to the man. He meant so much to him.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, giving us both the time to think about everything that we'd lost and been through.

"Do you think this will ever end?" I mumbled. "I mean, will we ever become a society again? Will people stop wanting to kill one another, stop stealing and attacking... And will we ever get to live in a functioning community where we don't have the threat of death constantly?"

"I hope so," he sighed. "Though the world before this wasn't much better."

"I suppose you're right," I frowned. He wasn't wrong, things weren't great even before the undead arrived. People were already killing one another pointlessly.

Kenny patted my shoulder. "I'm gonna go check on Clementine. Shout if you need anything."

And then I was alone again, back to watching Travis and praying that he would wake up.

* * *

I opened my eyes to a frightening sound. I must have fallen asleep at some point, the exhaustion catching up on me. The sound I heard was a deep groan, resembling that of which I had come to understand as a danger sign- the sign of walkers. And my eyes darted to the source of the noise... Travis.

With his grey skin, I thought he was dead. I was so scared with the belief that he had turned into one of the monsters we had to kill. But instead, his eyes slowly opened and stared at me with fear.

"Marcey, the gun..."

"It's okay," I told him, holding onto his hand and smiling with a grin so wide I couldn't fight it. "You're alive and so am I, and Arvo is gone."

He relaxed at the information that the attacker was no longer around, and a small but struggled smile appeared on his face.

"I'm still alive," he mumbled. "And you're not hurt."

"You took that bullet for me," I said.

"I told you I'd risk my life to protect you," he spoke, holding my hand weakly.

"I love you," I smiled. "But don't ever scare me like this again."

"I'll try," he chuckled, but flinched in pain.

"You need to rest," I instructed. "Kenny wants to leave here as soon as we can, and when he sees you've woken up he will want to go tomorrow. We have the car though, so you won't need to walk anywhere."

"Sounds good," he muttered as his eyes began to droop back to sleep. "To Wellington..."

"To Wellington," I confirmed, knowing everything would be okay once we got to safety there and the people I loved would be free from harm.

Once I knew he was asleep, I headed downstairs to inform the others of the change.

"We can't bring him with us."

I froze at the top of the stairs as the conversation from the others unfolded. They hadn't heard me.

"We can't just leave him here," Clementine shot back at Jane. "Travis is part of our group."

"He's extra weight to be carrying around. We're already getting slowed down by Marceline and her leg, now imagine how we'll be when we've got her and a guy who's on the brink of death!"

"Watch your fuckin' mouth!" Kenny hissed. "Those kids are with us, and if you don't like that then feel free to leave alone, but we're stickin' together."

"You're gonna get yourselves killed," Jane told them bluntly.

I could hear Sarah mumble something inaudible over her small sobs.

"Well you can't go back to the cabin, Sarah, your dad is dead."

Jane was crossing the line here.

"Get out," Kenny snapped. "We don't want you with us."

"What?" Jane laughed. "You wouldn't even be here without me!"

"GET OUT," Kenny roared in repetition.

The cabin fell silent for a few seconds. I heard the door open before Jane spoke a final time.

"I'm going back to Howe's. Anyone with me?"

After another small pause, I heard footsteps.

"Luke?" Clementine asked sadly.

The man replied to her with a heavy voice. "I'm sorry, Clementine, but I can't take this conflict anymore."

"I... I don't know where to go," Sarah cried.

I walked down the stairs, and all faces turned to me.

Jane and Luke stood in the doorway ready to leave while Kenny and Clementine were opposite them, Sarah caught in the middle and torn between her decision.

"You'll be safe with us, Sarah," I informed her. "But only you can decide where you go. We're not going to pressure you."

She looked between the two sides, and eventually walked to Clementine. But she did not stay, instead she hugged the younger girl and thanked her for being friends, then she walked to Luke and Jane. I couldn't help wondering how long she would live under their care considering how they'd planned to leave her on multiple occasions. I figured she just wanted to go back to somewhere familiar... the last place she saw her father.

They left then, none of them looking back.

"Back to five of us," I sighed.

"How's Travis?" Kenny asked.

"Awake," I smiled. "We can go to Wellington soon and we'll be safe."

Clementine hugged me tightly and I wrapped my arms around her in return, feeling like all my worries were taken away.

"Okay, we set off tomorrow," Kenny decided.

"Tomorrow it is," I nodded.

We would be safe.


	31. Wellington

The following day we set off in the truck. Kenny had to help Travis into the vehicle since he was still bandaged up and most movement put pressure on the wound. Clementine sat in the front seat besides Kenny, while I sat in the back with Travis and AJ.

Mostly all of us slept for the journey while Kenny drove us in silence. It was peaceful and I felt safe to be surrounded by the people I loved on a quiet road trip. I almost forgot what was happening to the world.

After a few hours, Kenny sighed heavily.

"What's up?" I asked him, being the only one who was awake.

"We're runnin' low on diesel," he informed me. "But I see cars up ahead where we'll have to stop anyway. We can do a search for any supplies while we're there."

"Is that really safe? I mean, I'm limping and Travis is lucky to be alive."

"I can go alone," he responded before slowing the car to a halt in front of the other cars. "I'll be five minutes at the most. If something happens, go to the rest stop and I'll meet y'all there."

"Okay."

Clementine and Travis woke up then as Kenny climbed out of the vehicle to go check around for anything we could take.

We waited for a few minutes before AJ began to cry.

"Shhh," I whispered, holding him in my arms. "It's okay, Kenny will be back soon."

"He's not stopping," Travis said with a worried tone. "It's gonna draw walkers."

"Shhh, shh," I repeated, feeling my heart racing because I knew he was right.

"Let me try," Clem reached out and I passed her the baby. She cradled him in her arms and he suddenly stopped crying.

"Wow," I smiled. "Big sister, Clem."

"Good job," Travis told her. "Hey, is that Kenny?"

I followed his line of sight to where a shadowed figure was approaching our car, but it was slow and dragging its feet like it was injured.

I got out of the car and sheltered my eyes from the snow storm, squinting to see if Kenny was hurt.

"Kenny?" I called, my voice feeling lost to the sound of the wind. "What happened?"

As it got closer, my heart sank. That wasn't Kenny.

"Get out the car, go!" I panicked.

Clementine scrambled out of the other door with AJ in her arms while I struggled to try and get Travis out.

"Go, Clem, we'll meet you at the building!"

The girl nodded and ran away with the baby.

"Go, Marcey, you're going to get yourself killed!"

"I'm not going to leave you," I rushed as I dragged Travis out.

He could walk fine but could barely move his arm on the side he'd been shot, and I was limping. We were a disaster, practically slower than the walker that was catching up to us.

The walker was almost upon us and we had no weapons, so I could only come up with one idea which was dangerous and stupid, but we were out of options.

I stopped walking and waited for the walker to near me, and then grabbed it as it reached out for me. I shoved the walker to the floor so it hit the snowy ground with a thump, then turned around to get back to Travis, who was staring at me like I was crazy.

"It's the best I could come up with!"

We powered through the storm, arms wrapped around each other as best we could in support.

"I can't see where we're going," I shouted.

"Me neither," he responded. "Just keep going forward."

The cold wind stung my face as it hit us from the side, but we kept going to reach the rest stop where we knew Kenny and Clem would be. I worried about whether they would also see it in the storm, but I had to hold on to the hope that they did.

"There is it," Travis pointed out.

The silhouette of the building appeared in our view as we walked closer, battling the wind and our injuries. We were weak, there was no denying that, and trying to get there was a struggle against the weather, but we could do it.

I held the door open for Travis and we both managed to get inside, sheltered from the snow.

"I thought you didn't make it," Clem spoke suddenly. I was so focused on checking that Travis was okay, I had completely failed to notice her and Kenny stood at the other side of the room.

"We're all here," I smiled. "And you managed to keep AJ quiet too?"

She nodded with a small grin and looked at the baby in her arms.

"What do we do now?" Travis asked.

"Get back on the road to Wellington... by foot."

"Great," I sighed.

"Use this," Kenny said, grabbing a broom that was leaning against a wall. "This brush can be like a walking aid and a weapon."

"Interesting weapon," I remarked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well it's the best we've got," he chuckled.

I took the broom and leaned on it as the walking stick. It wasn't very steady but it would do.

"Okay then, let's check this place for anything useful and get the hell outta here. We've got one big journey ahead of us."

* * *

After nine days of walking and struggling, we finally reached Wellington.

"It's just a little further," Clem called back to us from ahead. "We're almost there."

"I sure hope that's a cook fire. We could use a hot meal right about now. Maybe that's all I need. Come on, I'll race you both to the top!" Kenny laughed.

"I ain't running on this leg," I complained. "Give me AJ, you race."

The man chuckled and passed me the baby, and then after a countdown the pair raced up the hill while Travis and I limped after them.

They stopped at the top and waited for us to catch up. We slowly walked up to the top of the hill, relying on each other for support as we went. I had a feeling my leg would never heal properly after all the pressure I'd put on it, and I worried that Travis was in even worse condition.

As time was going on, he began to look less healthy and got tired easily. He hadn't really had a chance to recover from the gun shot despite it almost killing him, as we'd been back walking the very next day. I thought he was getting ill, possibly with an infection since the wound was not cleaned as much as it should have been.

"Holy shit," Kenny spoke when we caught up. "We did it."

"It's about time," Clem commented.

We all laughed in happiness. We'd finally all get to be together somewhere without threat.

"We'll finally feel safe, be able to sleep at night..."

We were halted in our tracks when a bullet bounced from the floor beside us.

"That's far enough," spoke a voice from a speaker.

"Put your hands up," I told the others.

"Drop your weapons."

Clem threw her gun to the floor.

"Approach the gate."

We walked forward slowly, noticing a woman come into view.

"Hi, I'm Edith," she greeted.

"Name's Kenny," the man informed, "and this here's Clementine, Travis, and Marceline."

"Hello," she smiled, then looked at the baby. "Aw, what a handsome boy! Look at him."

"This is Alvin Junior," I told her.

"Aw, he's going to be a little heart breaker when he grows up."

I smiled at her polite talk, and the idea of AJ getting to grow up in a world like ours. Maybe Wellington was even better than we had thought.

"So... What do we do to get in?" Kenny wondered.

"Well... I'm afraid this is the part where I give you the bad news."

Edith dropped a bag down from the ledge.

"What's that?"

"Food, water, medicine, a first aid kit..."

"Why would we need that?" I asked, knowing what the answer was going to be.

"Unfortunately our community isn't accepting new members. We're over capacity as it is and there's just not enough to go around if we keep bringing people in... Things might change in a few months..."

"Are you serious?"

"I'm sorry, I really am."

"So we're supposed to just take this and go?" Kenny questioned.

"But we have a baby!" Clem tried.

"This is hard for me too," Edith replied, "I don't want to turn anyone away, especially children, but-"

"Just take the kids!"

"What?" Clem gasped.

"Please, just take the kids. It's too dangerous out here for them."

"Kenny-"

"Two people, you can make room for that. You can take back the supplies you gave us if that helps, please I just need them to be safe and it's safe in there, I know that. Just ask someone, please? They won't make it out here."

Edith vanished to ask someone, and I turned to Kenny with a sad look. It would just be the three of us and I would never see Clementine again. The thought of that killed me inside. I had to protect her, and I couldn't do that if she was within Wellington's walls and I was outside.

"We're not staying here without you guys," Clem told us.

"Yes you are," Kenny responded.

"You... you'll be safe in there, Clem," I said, tears filling my eyes.

Edith returned a few seconds later with an update.

"We can take the children, but... just the children. I'm afraid that's just the baby and Clementine."

"Thank you, thank you!"

I felt the tears drip down my face. I wanted them to be safe more than anything, but I didn't want to leave them.

"Stay safe in there, Clementine," Travis instructed the young girl, hugging her as best he could. His voice cracked as he spoke.

"No, we're leaving! All of us. Together," Clem decided through sobs.

"You need to go," I cried. "I don't want us to be separated but it needs to be this way."

"No!" She repeated, shaking her head and crossing her arms. "We stay together."

We all fell silent as the girl was not changing her mind. She was determined that we weren't going to separate... We were still a group.

There was a thump as another bag of supplies hit the ground beside us.

"I'm only supposed to give out one per group... but if you're in the area, check back in a few months. We might be accepting people then."

"Thank you," I grinned. "Thank you, Edith."

She smiled back and Kenny picked up the two bags.

He looked at Clem and shook his head. "You're as stubborn as a damn mule."

"Yeah, wonder where I got that from," she returned.

I passed the baby back to Clementine while I wrapped an arm around Travis and he did the same to me, and then our small group walked away from Wellington and headed into the woods.

We may have lost our loved ones along the way, but we were all together. We all lost our family, but we had become one. The pain I had been through in losing people who meant so much to me made me feel weak, but I would always have the memories of knowing them.

I knew that whatever the world threw at us, we would get through it, because that's what we had always done, and we would _never_ have to go through anything alone.

* * *

**Well guys, it's over. I hope you have enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I will hopefully be writing another fic in the future to be the third in this little series. Marceline's story will go on. **

**Please leave a review if you can, I'm so thankful for all of those that have been left on the story up to now. Your words have kept me motivated. And if you would like to know what the alternative ending was, which was originally where I was going to take the story, then please include that in your review so I know if anyone would actually like to read it.**

**Keep looking out for any of my other walking dead game fics! I have plenty of ideas, so maybe those will fill the gap of waiting for another game series... **

**Thank you again for reading this story, i appreciate it so much. Much love you all!**


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